Branded Outtakes
by Leelan Oleander
Summary: These are missing/deleted/requested scenes from BRANDED. AU-Human, Strong Language, Mature subject matter
1. What the hell happened to Bella?

**_This is an outtake/bonus chapter from the story Branded; it takes place between Chapter One and Two...that mysterious time when Bella was in the hospital after James threw her down the stairs. Be warned, it's pretty intense and there's a lot of swearing because a lot of this chapter is from Emmett's POV and we all know that he LOVES to curse. :)  
_**

**_This is dedicated to Sophie-LA-is-Foolio because she requested it._**

**_SM owns Twilight. I own a basement full of ants. Do you think she'd trade?

* * *

_**

**Branded Outtake #1--What the hell happened to Bella?**

Emmett raced his jeep well beyond the speed limit toward the hospital. Bella's limp body flopped behind the seatbelt with every bump and pothole he hit. Blood dripped from her mouth and ear onto her shirt and the seat.

"Belly? You stay with me, okay? You don't go to sleep, okay? Belly?" He shook her lightly. "BELLY! Don't you dare fucking die on me! Don't you leave me too!"

When he arrived at the emergency room, he carried her in and yelled for help. Several nurses ran to him while and orderly wheeled over a gurney. Emmett laid her down gently and watched, horrified as they assessed her.

"Pupils are non-reactive. Breath sounds are light. Get a crash cart and take her into trauma one now!"

A kindly nurse took him by the arm and led him to a triage station. "Dear? Are you okay?"

"Help her, PLEASE! You can't let her die!"

"We'll do what we can, but we need some information. Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, she's my sister."

"What's her name?"

"Isabella Marie Swan. She's fifteen years old; her birthday is September 13th."

"Swan?" the nurse asked, looking up from her clipboard, "as in former Chief of Police Charlie Swan's daughter? Are you Emmett?"

"Yes, ma'am. Can you help Bella? Please?"

"We'll do everything we can. Does Bella have any allergies?"

"Penicillin and cats."

"Thank you, son. Please excuse me for a moment." She stepped out to talk to a nurse, who ran down the hall yelling something about an allergy.

Emmett's mind was racing. How had it come to this? Why was Bella drinking and at James' house?"

The nurse returned. "Emmett, dear, do you know how this happened?"

"I…I don't. I showed up at my best friend's place and found her drunk and incoherent; he said she fell down the stairs. I carried her out to the Jeep and I saw blood in her ear. Is she going to be okay?"

She smiled sadly at him. "I don't know, dear. It looks like she's had a head injury. They're trying to stabilize her now. Should I call your guardian?"

"I'm her guardian," he said before breaking down. "Some fucking guardian and big brother I am. I…I need to see her."

"Not yet, dear. Why don't I take you down to the family room? I'll update you as soon as I know something."

She stood with him, leading him through the trauma bay. He bolted when he heard a doctor yell out: "We're losing her!"

"BELLA! DON'T DIE!" he yelled as he ran toward her. Several doctors and nurses tried to stop him, but he shoved them off and only stopped when he reached her. She was being bagged and a doctor was about to use the defibrillator on her lifeless body.

"CLEAR!" the doctor with the paddles yelled. The nurse bagging her stepped back.

"NO!" Emmett screamed as her body jerked on the table.

The nurse resumed her position using the bag to force air into Bella's still lungs.

"Increase to 300. CLEAR!"

"BELLA! DON'T DIE! I LOVE YOU! I'M SORRY!"

The flat line on the monitor remained horizontal and monotonal.

"Nothing, doctor."

"Again. Come on, kid, don't leave us now. CLEAR!"

Emmett fell to his knees when he heard a slow beep, beep, beep from the monitor.

"Okay people, we've got a weak pulse. I want a CT scan of her head and I want OR 7 prepped and ready in case we need it. Son," he said to Emmett, "we need to go. You might want to say goodbye."

Emmett sobbed as he approached his sister. He kissed her forehead, tears dripping from his eyes, splashing on her pale cheeks. "Don't you die, Belly. Hang on. I love you. I'm not letting you go too."

They wheeled Bella away and Emmett sank to knees again. The kind nurse put her arms around his shoulders and squeezed. "Let's go pray for her, shall we?"

* * *

"Emmett, buddy, I know this is hard, but none of what you're telling us makes sense. We asked the lab to run a toxicology report and there's essentially no alcohol in her system. The smell seems to be superficial. Are you sure she had been drinking?"

Staring at his feet, Emmett shrugged his shoulders, unsure at this point what was real and what wasn't. If the police thought none of this made sense, they should have been inside Emmett's head.

"James said she'd drank his father's bourbon. Why would he lie?"

"We're questioning him now. Son, I'm not sure how to tell you, but the preliminary report on Bella's injuries don't match your friend's story. The doctors found some pretty horrifying injuries: broken ribs, both old and new; bruising not concurrent with the type of fall she supposedly had; cigarette burns and old stab wounds.

"Do you have any reason to believe that someone was abusing her? Did she have a boyfriend?"

"No, she didn't have very many friends left after Mom and Dad died. She started keeping to herself, hiding in her room a lot. Unless it was happening at school, I can't think of anyone who would be near enough to hurt her. It was mostly me and James."

"Did you leave them alone very often?"

Emmett thought hard for a moment. Had he left them alone a lot?

"Yes," he replied quietly. "I didn't want her to be alone so much."

"Would you have some reason to suspect that he might be abusing her? Can you think of why he would want to hurt her?"

Jerking his head up to face the officer, Emmett gasped, shocked. "NO! He's been my best friend since elementary school! He's the only person who has kept me sane through all of this. He'd never hurt Bella, she's like a sister to him."

"Son, have you ever done steroids with him? Has he ever offered them to you?"

"What does…?"

"We found a large quantity of anabolic steroids on him when we picked him up for questioning. He began yelling something about 'the little bitch snitched' on him. Has he ever acted violently in the past?"

"No…oh…OH! You think that James…" he fell quiet. "Well, holy shit. Yeah, he started using steroids last year to beef up for football. He offered them to me, yeah, but I never took them…I like my dick and balls the size they are, thank you."

Officer McCarty chuckled.

"Man, I can't believe I just ratted out my best friend. Look, Officer McCarty, Officer Embry, you won't tell him it was me, will you? After he started using them he kind of went apeshit for a while, randomly picking fights and playing overly rough on the field. He was ejected from a couple of games for…" he stopped as the epiphany hit him like a freight train. He started gasping for air.

"Emmett, son, are you okay?"

"THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE! He did this to Bella, didn't he? How the fuck could I be so blind! Oh my God! What have I done?" Emmett put his head down on the table and sobbed, his big shoulders heaving so hard it was making the table shake. "This is all my fault. My father must be rolling in his grave. What have I done?"

Anguish tore through him as he replayed the events of the past year. Now, he could see, clear as day, exactly when it had started. He pieced it all together into one fine, fucked up, mess.

A doctor entered the room. "Emmett Swan?"

Lifting his head, he looked at the doctor through red, swollen eyes. "Yeah?"

"Isabella is out of surgery."

"She's okay?"

The doctor moved to sit beside him. "I don't know, son. She coded again in surgery. We had to go in and try to relieve some of the pressure on her brain by inserting a shunt. If her pressure drops significantly and the swelling subsides in the next twenty-four hours, we're hopeful she'll make a near-full recovery. However, there is a strong chance she'll suffer brain damage of some sort. It could be as mild as minor memory loss or as devastating as remaining in a vegetative state or death. It's too soon to know right now. The important thing at this moment is to get the pressure down."

"Can I see her?"

"As soon as they have her settled in the ICU, they'll come and get you."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Look, son, we'll do everything we can to save her. The ball is really in her court right now. All we can do is wait and pray."

"Pray," Emmett mumbled. "Whatever. Where was God when that drunk driver killed my parents and why the hell did he let this happen to Bella? She's just a kid! She's an innocent! God," he snorted, "God doesn't care."

The doctor put his hand on Emmett's shoulder. "Sometimes God works in strange ways. I hope you can find some faith to hang onto, son, because your sister might just need a miracle."

When the doctor left the room, one of the officers put his hand where the doctor's had been. "Son, if you need ANYTHING at all, we're here for you and Sweet Pea. She's a tough kid, Emmett, she'll pull through. Your father wasn't just our boss, he was a good friend. We're all sorry you two had to go through this. We should have been there for you."

Emmett cried quietly as the officer continued. "We will do what we can to get this dealt with as quickly, easily, and privately as possible.

"Officer Embry put in a call to Mr. Alec for you and he will be arriving shortly."

"Why did you call my parents' lawyer?"

"As Executor of your parents' estate and the person responsible for your well-being, he has a right to know."

"Great," Emmett said, sighing, "someone else to come and tell me how much I suck."

"Emmett, you did well with what you had. Don't dwell on it and save your energy for helping Bella. We all love you and Sweet Pea like you're our own, and we're here for you. Here's my cell number. Call me anytime. Please."

"Thanks, Officer McCarty."

* * *

Emmett was lead down the dim hallway toward the ICU. With each step his heart sunk a little more. When the nurse stopped in front room 316, he started to sweat. _I can't do this,_ he thought nervously.

"It's okay, son. She's in a drug-induced coma so her brain can rest. I'll also warn you that she's on a ventilator, but her vitals are getting stronger. The pressure in her brain is going down slowly, but it's not getting any higher.

"Go talk to her. She needs to know she's not alone."

"Can she hear me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'd like to think so."

"Okay."

"If you notice anything , please let us know. I'm going to have someone bring up a cot for you because I have a feeling you'll not be leaving her side."

"No, ma'am, I won't. Thank you."

She gave him a hug. "Hang in there, sweetheart. Let me know if you need anything; and my name is Gianna."

"Thanks."

Emmett walked into the darkened room toward the bed where his baby sister, his Belly, lay trapped in her coma. She was paler than usual, save for the bruises and scars he'd neglected to notice. There were tubes and wires coming out of everywhere, including her bandaged head. She was essentially being kept alive by machines.

"Oh, Belly, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he pulled a chair beside the bed. He rubbed her bruised cheek gently. "This is all my fault," he said, putting his head down on the bed beside her.

Sleep quickly overtook him, the stress of the day finally taking its toll on him. He woke some time later when he heard a doctor speaking quietly to a nurse nearby. Raising his head, he asked the doctor how she was.

"Sorry we woke you, son. I was just coming in to check on her."

He leaned over, opened one of her bruised and swollen eyes and shone a light into it. Emmett gasped when he saw that the whites of her eyes were red.

"What the hell?"

"It's okay, just some ruptured blood vessels. Watch," he said as he flashed the light into her eye again. "Did you see the pupil react?"

Emmett nodded.

"That's a good sign, son. Her pupils were non-reactive when she came in."

He checked her reflexes, tweaked the monitors and the IV before he spoke again. "The pressure is down a little, but I'd like to see it go down a lot more."

"What can I do?"

"Talk to her, reassure her that everything is going to be okay. Pray. That's all. It's a waiting game now. Why don't you go home and get some sleep, take a shower, change your clothes; you've got blood on your shirt."

Emmett replied quietly that he wouldn't leave her.

"You're no good to her like this, son. She won't be waking up anytime soon. Please, go take care of yourself."

Sighing, he finally nodded. "Belly, sweetie, I'm going home for a little bit. You be safe. I love you. Don't die." He kissed her cheek before he left.

Mr. Alec met him in the hallway. "How is she?"

Shaking his head sadly, Emmett slid down the wall until he was sitting.

"I'm sorry son, this is my fault. I should have never entertained the thought of you being her guardian. You're just a kid yourself!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Alec. I thought I could handle it. Never in a million years did I ever think that my best friend was a monster."

"Are they sure it was James?" Mr. Alec said as he sat down beside Emmett. "Will they have enough to prosecute?"

"I hope so," Emmett said, picking at his jeans. "I'm pretty sure that if they can't charge him until Bella wakes up, they can still get him on the drug charges. So, what happens now?"

Mr. Alec sighed heavily. "First we get your sister through this, we need to know what special needs she'll have when and if she wakes up and we'll go from there. If she's able, she'll go live with the Cullens."

"What about me?" he asked, panicked.

"Son, you're eighteen, you can do whatever you want. I'll release part of your trust fun and you can go anywhere your heart desires."

"I'm not leaving her. Will the Cullens take me too?"

"Yes, Esme insisted that you both come."

"Good," he said.

They sat in silence for a moment until they heard the scratchy sound of the PA system coming to life. "CODE BLUE, ROOM 316. CODE BLUE, ROOM 316."

Emmett jumped up. "That's Bella!"

He and Mr. Alec ran to the doorway and watched helplessly as they worked on Bella again.

"Come on, Bella!" he said through tears. Mr. Alec put his arm around his shoulder.

"They're doing their best, son."

Emmett flinched.

"She's back," a doctor announced after a second round with the defibrillator. He replaced the paddles on the cart. "Get her to CT again. STAT!"

Helplessness took root in Emmett as he watched them wheel away his poor pale, broken, baby sister away from him.

"I'm sorry, son, her pressure shot up. I think there's a bleed on her brain, or a clot. We'll do what we can, but there are no promises."

Mr. Alec led Emmett into Bella's room. "Here, sit, son."

Emmett flinched again. "Please don't call me that."

"What?"

"_Son._"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't deserve that title after what's happened. My father would disown me for destroying his precious Sweet Pea," he replied, his voice colourless.

"You did the best you could, Emmett; I'm as much to blame as anyone. Come on, let me run you home to get some clothes. I'll find a place for you to shower here.

"And don't worry about anything, s…Emmett, we'll get her through it."

* * *

Bella's head was splitting; lightning bolts cut through her grey matter and bounced off the inside of her skull. She tried to open her eyes, but they resisted. She managed to open one eye just a crack and she gasped, or rather, she would have, had a machine not been breathing for her. Emmett was sitting beside her, holding her hand, looking terrified.

When he seemed to notice her slight eyelid movement, he called out for someone, but she couldn't tell who it was until a nurse approached, smiling.

"Belly? Are you there?"

She blinked, too afraid to move her head, lest it shatter.

"Are doing one blink for yes, two blinks for no?"

She blinked once.

The nurse moved closer. "Hi Bella, I'm Gianna. It's nice to see your pretty brown eyes. You've given us all quite a scare. Are you in pain?"

Bella blinked once, hard.

"Can you move your hand?"

Bella thought about it for a minute and tried to move it. When there was no motor response, the nurse smiled at her. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'll give you some pain medicine for now and once you're better able to move we'll hook you up with a pain pump. Don't worry, dear, you'll be up and moving around in no time considering you shouldn't even be awake right now."

"Belly, do you know who I am?" Emmett asked.

One blink. _How silly! Why wouldn't I know my own brother?_ she thought.

The nurse pushed a button, fixed Bella's blankets, checked the monitors, smiled and assured her that the pain would be gone in a moment.

Mercifully it was, and so was Bella; swept away on a warm morphine wave of relief.

* * *

"Exhale, Belly, come on, push that tube out."

Bella strained to find the air she needed to get that vile breathing tube out of her throat.

"Good girl," Gianna said in a soothing voice. "You can do it, Sweet Pea, just stay calm."

The tube slid out, leaving Bella struggling for air. After nine days on the ventilator, her lungs were a little out of practice. She coughed, gasped and gulped for the oxygen her burning lungs cried out for. Gianna placed a mask over her mouth and nose, encouraging her to breathe in and out slowly.

Emmett held her hand, coaching her as she finally pulled enough air into her lungs. Her body relaxed and she smiled weakly.

"You okay?" he asked.

She raised a hand to his cheek and nodded.

Gianna checked her lungs for fluid, watched her O2 levels on the monitor and smiled. "Good girl, Bella. You're doing great."

"Really?" Emmett asked.

"Really. You're a tough cookie, Bella. I'm going to go grab the doctor. If you have any further trouble breathing, push the red button right away. Do. Not. Wait."

"I won't," Emmett replied, smiling. He turned his attention back to Bella.

"W…what?" she stuttered, her voice weak and raspy.

Emmett gave her a couple of ice chips. She closed her eyes and sighed as the cool water soothed her burning throat.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Bella tried to recall how she could have ended up in the hospital. She had…what had she…?

The heart monitor pinpointed the exact moment she remembered what precipitated her hospitalization. Gianna ran back in, a doctor in tow.

Bella gasped for air. "James," she croaked. _Oh no! What have I done? Em's going to leave or send me away now. Shit! Shit! Shit! Bella, you are SO incredibly stupid!_

"Bella, Sweet Pea, you need to calm down," Gianna said as the doctor prepared a syringe. "The doctor is going to give you something to help calm you down. You'll be okay."

The room began to spin. She looked at Emmett and pleaded with him. "Don't go," she whispered.

"Never, Belly, I'll never leave you alone again. I'm sorry." He kissed her hand as the darkness overtook her again.

* * *

"Come on, Sweet Pea, you can do it. We're just going to walk to the chair. You need to get moving, get your lungs cleared," Gianna said. "You can't stay in bed all day like a lazy bones."

"I'm dizzy," she replied quietly, trying to centre herself. "You stop the room from spinning and I'll run a marathon."

"I see you haven't lost your sense of humour. Come on, up you go."

Gianna and Emmett helped her to her feet. Her legs threatened to give out on her, but they held onto her securely so she wouldn't fall.

"We won't let you fall, Belly, we've got you," Emmett said, tightening his grip on her. "You're doing great."

She wanted to throw up by the time she made it to the chair by the window. The room was rotating so bad she really struggled to keep her liquid lunch down.

"How's that?" Gianna asked as she adjusted Bella's IV, and pulled back the lever on the recliner.

"Better."

"Take deep, cleansing breaths, Sweet Pea."

"Why do you call me that? That's the name my Dad always called me."

"I can stop if you like. I thought it might make you feel a little better," the kind nurse said, crouching down beside her. "I knew your parents, Bella. Your father was always so proud of you both," she said, looking at Emmett. "He always showed us pictures of you; newspaper clippings of your football successes, Bella's adorable ballet recitals. He'd beam and say _that's my Sweet Pea_ _in that tutu_; or _that son of mine is going to play in the NFL!_ Even when you were little, Emmett, he'd brag about how you were going to be an awesome football player.

"Bella, you were the apple of his eye. We'd always have a chuckle about your latest clumsy accident."

Bella slowly raised a hand to wipe away a tear. "How did you know him? I don't remember you being at the house."

"He spent a lot of time here with accident, abuse, and rape victims, not to mention suspects who required medical care. He was well-loved here and well-respected. We were all devastated when…" she paused, swallowed hard. "I was on duty the night of the accident. It was so hard to see. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be upsetting you like this."

"No," Bella gasped, "I need to hear it. Please?"

"They were already gone when they arrived, but nobody was willing to give up. We worked on them for almost an hour," Gianna began to cry. "I'm so sorry, kids. We loved your dad so much."

Bella took Gianna's hand in hers and rubbed it. "Thank you."

Gianna looked up, confused. "Why?"

"I needed to hear that…I…" she frowned, "I never really grieved for them; it never felt real. It was like they went out to get me some cough medicine and just didn't come home. How could they be dead…I never saw them."

"Yeah, I know, it still doesn't seem real for me either, and I'm the one who had to deal with the funeral home. The closest it's felt to being real, that they're really gone, was when I saw you dead on the table while they tried to bring you back. All I could think was that I was going to lose you too, that I was going to be all alone."

"Well, I'm still here," she said, smiling at him.

"Yeah, but you weren't for a while. Between coding God knows how many times and being in a coma for a week…I thought you had left me."

"You're lucky to be alive, Bella," Gianna said, standing up. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. "I have to go check on another patient. Let me know if you need me."

Bella looked at Emmett and sighed. "So, you're holding out on me, Brother Bear. Tell me the truth, I can handle it, as long as the truth doesn't make the room spin any more than it already is."

Emmett quietly told her about finding her at James' house, about her coding in the ER, in the OR, and then again in her room just before they took her back to the OR to remove a blood clot.

Raising her hand slowly to the bandage on her head, she winced. "That explains the bandage. Did they have to shave off a lot of my hair?"

"No, I don't think they did, just a bit around the incisions. If they did, we'll get you a wig to wear until it grows back."

"So, now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"James."

"Oh…well, James has been arrested, although I'm not sure of the exact charges against him. They are waiting to talk to you, I think."

"And?"

"And what?"

"When do you ship me off?"

Emmett was puzzled. "Why would I ship you off? I go where you go."

"That's not what James said. He said if you found out that you'd leave me, that I've been holding you back and that you'd toss me the first opportunity you got."

Taking her hand in his, he sighed. "Belly, we are a team. I won't ever leave you. Yes, we're shipping out, but we're going together."

"We're leaving Phoenix?" Bella gulped. "But the house…"

Big sigh from Big Brother Bear. "We were on borrowed time. I had made an agreement with Mr. Alec that I would try to raise you; if it didn't work, then we…well, we're moving to Washington State to live with the Cullens."

"Our Godparents?"

"Yup."

"But…we don't really know them-we've seen them how many times? Twice? When we were little? I don't want to live with strangers, Emmy, I just want to go home," she said, crying. "I promise I'll be good this time."

Emmett held her tightly in his arms. "You're a good girl, Belly, I just wasn't able to take good enough care of you. Why didn't you tell me what he was doing to you? I could have stopped it!"

"I was scared, Emmy."

"Because you thought I would leave you?"

She nodded slowly, so as not to set her head spinning any faster.

"Did he hurt you for a long time?"

She nodded again and tensed up when she felt his hands curling into fists. Her stomach lurched a little.

"How long? When did it start?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Just after Mom and Dad died," she whispered. Her body began to tremble and she couldn't control it. Her teeth chattered.

"Shh, Belly, it's okay. Calm down. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at James and myself."

Bella's stomach rolled, her eyes grew huge. Emmett grabbed a bedpan just in time to get it under her chin as she threw up.

"Gianna!" he yelled.

Bella held a hand up. "I'm okay. Just get me back to the bed. My head is killing me."

Gianna ran in. "What's wrong?"

Emmett was picking Bella up and carrying her to the bed. The nurse followed with the IV pole, fussing over Bella once she was back in bed.

"Are you okay?"

Bella nodded slowly. "I got sick."

"I see that, sweetie. I'll go get the doctor."

"I'm okay. My head just hurts. I'd like some sleep."

"Okay. Here's your pain pump. You get some rest. Emmett, dear, can I speak with you?"

"I'll be out when she falls asleep, okay?"

"Sure."

Emmett found Gianna going over some charts at the nurse's station.

"Hi, sweetie, I take it she's sleeping."

"Yeah, but I don't want to leave her for too long in case she has a nightmare."

"Does she vomit a lot? She didn't seem too overly upset that she was sick."

"Usually after a nightmare. I've had to crawl into bed with her almost every night since Mom and Dad died. She started having nightmares, screaming, crying and throwing up.

"She threw up a lot on her last birthday, too. It was strange. She was fine when I left to pick up her cake, but when I came back she looked like she'd seen a ghost. She picked at her food and threw up on the floor. When I came back with a mop and bucket, she was laying on the floor crying. Oh," he stopped for a moment. His face was suddenly flush with colour. "James…FUCKER!"

"How long has this been going on?"

"What?"

"The abuse?"

"Since Mom and Dad died. I had no idea."

"She needs to talk to someone."

"I'll find someone when we move."

"Do you have any reason to believe he sexually abused her?"

"Oh God, no. I never thought of that. He wouldn't do that…I know he wouldn't."

"I think it's a question that needs answering. By the way, Officer McCarty stopped by. I told him to let her rest for a while before they start questioning her."

"Gianna?"

"Yes, Emmett?"

"Will you stay with us while they question her? I don't want her to freak out. You can make them stop if it gets too bad, not to mention I could use the moral support; I don't know how much more of this I can hear," he mumbled the last part.

Gianna hugged him. "Of course I will. Are you really sure that you want to be there? It might upset her more to talk about it with you in the room."

"I never thought of that. What if she needs me?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she cupped his cheek in her hand. "You look exhausted. Why don't you go take a nap too."

He smiled, but it barely reached his tired eyes. "A nap sounds great."

"I put some clean bedding on your cot but didn't get a chance..."

He cut her off. "No worries, I got it. Thank you."

She kissed his forehead. "Anytime, Emmett."

* * *

"So, Bella, do you know who this gentleman is?" Gianna asked.

She scrunched up her face for a moment, covered one eye and smiled. "Officer McCarty! Is that Officer Embry?"

"Hi, Sweet Pea. How's our girl doing?"

"Meh, I've been better," she grinned. "I suppose this goes way beyond my klutzy mishaps, doesn't it?"

His smile dropped. "I suppose it does. How're you feeling?"

"I'm still dizzy a lot, I have some double vision and for some reason it feels like someone cracked my head open like a coconut," she laughed lightly.

"Aw, Bella, we're so sorry. We should have looked out for you. Your Dad was our boss and our friend and we totally let you and Emmett down." He moved to sit in Emmett's usual spot beside the bed.

"Where's Emmett?"

"I sent him out on a mission to find you some edible food," Gianna said. "I'm going to be his proxy until he gets back."

"So, Officers McCarty and Embry, when does the inevitable investigation start?"

"I'm sorry, Sweet Pea, I hate to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Sweetie, do you know who it was who caused your recent injuries?"

"James. James McLeod."

"Can you tell us what happened that day?"

Bella though long and hard about the day in question, but her memories were kind of fuzzy.

"I don't remember how I ended up at his house. I remember him punching me and then landing at the bottom of the stairs," she paused, "I think he burned me with a cigarette."

"Can you show us?"

Panic bubbled up in the back of her throat in the form of acidic bile. She closed her eyes and tried to swallow it, along with the slew of memories assaulting her.

Gianna moved closer and rubbed Bella's cheek. "Take your time, sweetheart, no one will hurt you."

"No," she muttered, trembling. "Please, no."

"Shh, calm down, Sweet Pea, we can wait."

Bella eventually pulled down the sheet and pulled up her gown only high enough to show the lesser scars. She didn't want anyone to see the brand further up her torso, although she was sure the doctors and nurses had already seen it dozens of times.

Officer McCarty gasped. "Oh, Sweet Pea."

"Please don't, sir."

"I'm sorry. Sometimes it's hard to separate work and, well, this. So," he said, composing himself. "What else do you remember?"

"Fire in my throat. He made me drink fire."

"It was bourbon."

"It felt like fire but it tasted better than the blood."

"How long has this been going on?" Officer Embry asked.

Bella went silent, a tear fell down her cheek. "After Mom and Dad died. Emmett was so busy dealing with all the funeral stuff, I had been sick and he didn't want to leave me alone, so he asked _him_ to come over."

She continued to tell them about the physical abuse. She stopped talking about everything when flashes of the repressed memories of the rapes; the feel of him touching her, stretching her, violating her, sent an involuntary message to her stomach causing her to throw up. Gianna held the bedpan for her and rubbed her back.

"Breathe through it, sweetie. It's okay."

"My head hurts," she cried. "Can we please stop?"

"Yes, dear, we'll stop for now; we can talk another day. We have more than enough to charge him. I'm sorry to make you go through this again. It'll all be over soon."

"What's going to happen?"

"Well, we'll charge him. He'll probably get bail because he's a minor, and he'll be eventually tried. We're hoping we'll be able to have him tried as an adult."

"What if he comes after me again?"

"He won't, Sweet Pea, he won't know where to find you. We are going to try to keep the location of your new home confidential. Please don't worry." Officer McCarty shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "There's one more thing. We need to get photographic evidence of your injuries. I'm really sorry."

Bella began to cry harder.

Gianna spoke up. "Do you think you could do it later? She's so upset."

"I'm sorry, but as it is, we should have taken these a week ago."

"Please, no!" Bella wailed.

"What's the problem?"

"I...Please don't show Emmy. If you promise not to show him, if you SWEAR on my father's grave that you won't show him, then..." she sobbed, "okay."

The officers helped Bella stand up. Gianna locked the door so no one would come in. The officers gasped when they saw the word PIG burned into her pale flesh.

"Did he...?"

She nodded, sobbing, and trying to cover her shame.

"We're almost finished, Bella, just a couple more and we'll go."

As soon as they were finished, she curled up into a ball on the bed and began rocking as she sobbed.

"Gianna, she needs to talk to a counsellor," Officer McCarty said, "the poor girl is severely traumatized."

"Emmett assured me that he'd get her some help when they get settled in Washington State. Oh dear, she's vomiting again. Please leave the door open when you leave."

When Emmett returned with bags of take-out, he found his sister curled up in a ball whimpering in her sleep. He set the bags down, crawled into bed with her as he usually did at times like this, wrapped his big arms around her and silently begged for her forgiveness.

* * *

Although still somewhat unsteady on her feet by times and prone to bouts of dizziness, Bella was finally discharged after three weeks in the hospital. She was thrilled to be leaving, but sad at the same time. She was going to miss Gianna, who had become almost a surrogate mother to both of them, and because they would be leaving for some tiny town in damp old Washington State called Forks.

Emmett had already begun packing up their things so Bella really had very little to do, not that she was allowed to do much or even had the energy or balance.

She stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom and stared at the scars on her head. The doctor had done an amazing job at hiding them in her hair. Of that she was thankful. She already had enough scars to look at.

Packing up her toiletries and a last few trinkets and mementos did nothing to quell the fears she had of the future. She was leaving behind everything she knew, stepping out into the unknown. Maybe a fresh start wouldn't be so bad.

Pausing in front of the door to her parents' bedroom, she took a deep breath as she pushed it open. She braced for the tears, but they didn't come, at first. Instead, she saw lazy Sunday mornings in bed with her parents, laughing, joking around, having tickle fights; having _THE_ talk with her mom when she had her first period when she was twelve; trying to help her Mom with the crossword puzzle; watching baseball games with her Dad. She smiled before she walked to the bed and took the afghan her Nanna Swan had knit, said goodbye to the memories, and left before she broke down.

"Emmett," she said as he helped her buckle her seatbelt. "What if the Cullens hate us? What if they think I'm too much of a freak? What if they find out what happened and they can't stand to be around me? What if I'm too broken?"

Tilting her head so she was looking at him, he gave her a kiss on the nose and sighed. "Belly, they're good people and they'll love you; everyone always does."

Tears forced their way out of her eyes as she nuzzled the afghan and watched her childhood home disappear behind them. _Goodbye, old life. See you never, old house. Hello cold, damp, mossy Forks, Washington._

_

* * *

**So, there's what happened between Chapter 1 and 2 of **_**Branded._ I hope you enjoyed it._**

**_Again, if you have any outtakes you'd like to see from _Branded _or_ Road Maps_, please let me know._**

**_I love hearing from everyone, even if it's just to say hello, so don't be shy._**

**_Oh, and my stories are up for _Twilight All Human Fanfiction Awards_. Voting is now open and will be until August 25th. You can vote as many times as you want. If you'd like to vote for my stories or any of the other wonderful stories nominated, please go to _**www DOT twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm

**_Thanks again for all your love and kind words. Your reviews and PMs make it worth waking up in the morning. :) Big Emmett-sized hugs to you all._  
**


	2. Hindsight is 2020 & Frustrating as Hell

**Outtake #2--Hindsight is 20/20 and Frustrating as Hell!**

**_Here is outtake #2, which takes place, again, between Chapter 1 and 2 of _Branded_. This covers what the Cullens were thinking/doing during the chaos and mayhem of Bella's hospitalization. It's not nearly as intense or tissue-worthy as the last one. _**

**Mistletoe-92 _requested an outtake of Esme's POV during the standoff with Ed Sr. in _Road Maps_ but it got me thinking about what Esme was thinking when she first heard about what happened to Bella, so, even though this isn't exactly what you wanted, and your request will be fulfilled in time, this outtake is dedicated to _Mistletoe-92_._  
**

**_SM still has TW, I still have ADHD...ooh, shiny!  
_**

* * *

"Cullen residence."

"Esme Cullen, please."

"Speaking."

"Oh, uh, forgive me. This is Mr. Riley Alec calling...the Executor of the Swan Estate."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Alec, how are you?" she replied, sitting up straighter in her desk chair. "I hope that the kids are okay."

"There was an uncomfortable silence followed by a nervous cough.

"Mr. Alec?"

"Please, call me Riley, Mrs. Cullen."

"If we are ditching formalities, then I insist you call me Esme."

More uncomfortable throat clearing preceded the words she had never expected to hear. "Esme, does your offer to take in Isabella and Emmett Swan still stand? There's been an...well, an accident of sorts. Isabella..."

"Oh my Lord! What happened to Isabella?"

"We aren't exactly sure yet; she is in surgery right now and at the last update, it wasn't looking good."

"Is Emmett okay?"

"Emmett is physically fine; emotionally, he's a train wreck. I think if we had a better idea about how this happened it might make it easier. I wanted to speak to you about your previous offer before I mentioned it to him, because at this point, there aren't any other options aside from putting Bella in foster care. I don't think that Emmett knew what he was getting into, and I don't think that a judge would agree to release her to his custody, even if he is of age now."

"Did Emmett have something to do with this, this accident?"

"No, no, I don't think I explained myself clear enough. It might be construed that proper supervision may have prevented this from happening, but no one would ever put the blame solely on Emmett for this. There is another party involved."

"Will she be okay? Who is this other party? Can I talk to Emmett? Should I fly down?"

"Please calm down. I don't think you need to fly down, at least not yet. All I know is that Emmett found his sister unconscious and bleeding from the ear at a friend's house. He rushed her to the hospital, and according to Officer McCarty, she's suffered a traumatic brain injury. She arrived at the hospital non-responsive and required immediate intervention to keep her alive. She's in surgery right now, but the prognosis is far from good. She has excessive swelling in her brain and if she survives, she may be, uh, compromised."

Esme grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes. "Those poor babies! We should have insisted that they move here in the first place."

"So, are you still willing to take them in should Isabella require extensive and potentially permanent aftercare?"

"Of course! How dare you think otherwise?"

"Would you like to discuss this with Dr. Cullen before agreeing to this?"

"He'll agree with me one hundred percent, Mr. Alec. So what's our next move?"

"I'm going to the hospital to see Emmett now. I'll contact you when I have more information."

"Thank you, Riley, and please call me, no matter the time, when Isabella gets out of surgery. Also, please give Emmett my number in case he needs me."

"Thank you, Esme. I wish I was calling under better circumstances."

"Please give both of the children my love."

Esme hung up the phone and slumped into her chair, clutching a tissue to her breaking heart. _Those poor, poor children. First they lose their parents and now poor Isabella might not survive._

"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Edward said, standing in the doorway. "Is it Dad? Is Alice okay? What's going on?" He walked to stand at her side.

"Oh, Edward, sweetie, that was Mr. Alec on the phone," she sniffled.

"Mr. Alec? I'm not sure I know him."

"He is the man in charge of the Renee and Charlie Swan's estate."

"Oh," Edward said, sullenly. "Is everything okay?"

"There's been an accident; Isabella is a very sick little girl. Mr. Alec called to see if we would still take them into our home."

"What happened to her?"

"I'm not sure. What I'm sure of is that our family is about to grow."

Edward smiled. "Good, it'll be nice to have a guy around here who won't force me to go shopping all the time."

"Hey!" Alice said, ducking into her mother's office. "I resemble that remark. So, what's going on?"

"The Swans are coming to live with us after all," he replied.

Alice scrunched up her face. "The Swans? We're finally getting swans for the pond? How exciting!"

He groaned. "No, Alice, Emmett and Isabella SWAN are coming to live with us?"

There was a rare moment of silence before Alice squealed louder than a fangirl in line for opening night of a teenage vampire movie. "I'm actually going to have a sister? Really? Oh my God I can't wait! I'll finally have someone to..."

Esme held up a hand to silence her daughter. "There's more, sweetie. We don't have all the details, but Isabella is a very sick girl. There won't be any shopping or makeovers for a while, in fact, they aren't even sure she'll live."

A loud gasp escaped from Alice. "Oh my God! She HAS to be okay, I can't lose my sister before I even get her!"

"Kids, I need to make some phone calls. I'll let you know what's going on, okay? Oh, and Alice, pull out the furniture catalogues, looks like we'll be finishing the cottage after all."

Edward plugged his ears to block the sound of his sister squealing again. _Oh good Lord,_ he thought, _another vapid, squeeing teenage girl in the house. Just what I always wanted._

"Son, can you do me a huge favour?"

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Can you please go play something soothing on your piano for me? My nerves are shot."

Hugging her, he assured her that everything would work out and that he would go play something calming for her.

"Thanks, sweetie."

* * *

The phone rang and rang. Each shrill trill made her all the more upset.

"Carlisle Cullen."

"Hi, sweetheart. Have you got a moment?"

"Of course, dear. Wait, what's wrong? Are you and the kids okay?"

Esme sighed loudly. "Our children are okay, it's the Swans that I'm worried about."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Mr. Alec called, there's, um, well, there's been an accident of some sort. Little Isabella is...oh Carlisle, we should have pushed harder for custody."

"Wait, what's wrong with Isabella?"

"She's on life support; they were in surgery trying to reduce the pressure on her brain. That's about all he knew. He asked if we would take the kids."

"I hope you said yes."

"Yes. He said that she might be compromised if she survives," she choked on a sob. "What if she dies? Oh, Carlisle!"

"Don't cry, love. We'll discuss this further when I get home. For now, we'll pray she's okay, get things ready for them, and deal with the fallout when and if it comes."

"Can you make some calls? Find out what is really happening? Surely you have an associate in Phoenix."

"I'll see what I can do, but without the guardianship papers, I doubt anyone will say a word to me about it. I take it that Riley will be getting the documents drawn up for us to sign. Could you perhaps have him fax them to our lawyer's office as soon as possible?"

"I'll call him now. Oh, sweetie, I'm scared. She can't die. Renee must be so disgusted with me; she left her children to us and we let them down."

"Shh, darling, now is not the time to be upset. Let's sort this out and then we'll worry. I love you."

"I love you more."

Esme ended the call, looked up Mr. Alec's cell number, and got his machine. She left a message with instructions as to what needed to be done and a contact number for their attorney. She picked up a photo from her desk and sighed. "Oh, Renee, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to let you down. We'll get Bella through this, I promise."

* * *

Alice sat cross-legged on her big bed, surrounded by a veritable cornucopia of catalogues, yet she wasn't looking at them; she was looking at an old photo of Edward, Emmett, Isabella and herself. They couldn't have been any older than four years old. Emmett had Bella on his back and they were laughing; Edward was on his knees making a face and Alice was mid-pirouette by the looks of it.

"Any luck with the catalogues?" Edward said, walking into her room. "Do you need help finding things for Emmett? Hey, what's that?"

Edward pointed a long finger toward the picture she was holding. She held it out so he could see it.

"I don't know if I remember much about them. We've only met them once or twice and we were so young," he said.

"Yeah, I know. It's too bad; they look like a lot of fun."

They bed dipped a little as Edward sat down. "So, what do you make of all this?"

Magazines scattered on the bed as she moved closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm scared for Bella. I hope she doesn't die."

"Yeah, me too," he said, quietly.

"But I'm totally okay with them moving in, I mean you moved in and although you're a little on the dorky side, you've been the best brother a girl could ask for. Besides, this is going to be fun; I'm going to have another girl to hang with, other than Rose. I'll have someone to talk to about Jasper, because I certainly can't talk to Rose about him—he's her brother and all; it's just weird."

"And talking to your brother about his best friend like that isn't weird?"

"You see where I'm going with this?"

Her head bounced on his shoulder as he laughed. "Point taken," he paused for a moment, "what happens if she gets here and she's, uh, compromised? What if she can't talk well or walk? What if she drools?"

Alice thought about it. "Well, I could talk for her; Lord knows I talk enough for a dozen people. I can wheel her around, and if she drools, I can find designer rags to use to clean her up."

Hugging her before he got up, he whispered to her, "Alice, you may be a hyperactive, motor mouth shopaholic but you've got a heart of pure gold."

"Aw, thanks."

Edward walked toward the door when Alice called him back. "Here, take these catalogues and pick out some stuff for Emmett."

* * *

Happy, smiling faces, fresh with youth and big dreams stared back at Esme as she looked through old photo albums. She laughed at some of the memories they invoked. Renee had been her best friend in university; her confidant, and a sister. No one but Elizabeth had ever understood her the way Renee had.

They had tried to stay close in university, but they ended up moving away just far enough that it became harder and harder to see each other. Renee couldn't travel when she was pregnant with Emmett, Carlisle was in Med school and Esme hated to be too far from him; and then they had both been pregnant for their girls at the same time. They had written a ream of letters to one another, lamenting and celebrating their pregnancies, comparing growth and milestones, and sending photographs back and forth.

Renee, Charlie, Emmett, and Isabella had made the trip up one year when the kids were still small. They had so much fun that it seemed terribly unfair to separate them. They had always dreamed of raising their children together, side-by-side in their white picket fenced-in houses, but that never happened. Charlie had taken a position with the police force in Phoenix; Carlisle had stayed in Washington State.

Esme flipped through one of the boxes of letters, picking out the ones relating to Renee's pregnancy with Isabella and set them aside. She wanted to show them to her when she arrived...

...if she arrived.

Her heart ached in so many places. It hurt for the poor girl who was so near death; it ached for the son who had stepped up to take on something he was obviously not prepared for; and it broke for the loss of her kindred spirit. She thought the grieving process for her best friend was long over, but it wasn't; this latest chain of events had ripped the wound wide open again.

"Esme?"

She looked up at her handsome husband and smiled through the tears. He walked slowly to her side and embraced her.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and held him tighter.

"I have news," he said, quietly.

Snapping her head up, she couldn't make the words come out of her mouth. He kissed her forehead before leading her to the couch where he held her as he might hold his daughter when she was upset. He ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.

"Isabella isn't out of the woods yet, but she's proven that she's strong."

"What happened?"

Carlisle exhaled loudly. "Promise you won't overreact."

"Oh, Lord," she groaned. "Do I really want to hear this?"

"No. No one should have to hear this, let alone endure it."

"What happened to her?"

"The details are still sketchy at best, but it seems that Emmett's best friend has been...oh God, I can't..."

"What, Carlisle? What?"

"This young man has been physically abusing her."

"WHAT?!" Esme shrieked. Carlisle gently covered her mouth so as not to wake Edward and Alice. "He what? I...I...I can't even...it doesn't...why didn't Emmett stop it?" she stammered.

"She hid it from him. He had no idea it was happening."

"How long?"

"We don't know. Until she regains consciousness, if she regains consciousness, we'll know more. It seems as if he threw her down the stairs. She had a subdural haematoma, her heart stopped again, prompting them to rush her back to surgery. She was stable the last time I spoke to them in Phoenix."

"Oh my Lord, that poor little girl. How's Emmett holding up?"

"Not good; he's blaming himself for everything."

"What can we do?"

"Pray, sweetheart, we can pray."

"I want to go to Phoenix; I should be there."

Carlisle kissed her forehead again, calming her. "I think we need to let them deal with this a bit before we thrust ourselves on them. We need to get the cottage straightened away as soon as possible. It's hard to know when and if Bella will be released."

"I need to talk to Emmett."

"Let Mr. Alec know—he'll put you in touch with him. The paperwork will be ready for us to sign tomorrow."

* * *

"Cullen residence."

"Um, can I...could I please...?"

"Emmett, sweetheart, is that you?"

"Mrs. Cullen?"

"Please, call me Esme, dear. How are you? How is Isabella?"

"She'll be fighting mad if she hears you call her Isabella," he said, chuckling.

"You didn't answer my questions."

She heard him sigh. "Bella is holding her own. She's in a drug-induced coma, on life support, but the swelling is going down. Her pupils are moving again; I guess that's good."

"It is, dear, that's very good. I'm glad to hear that she's doing so much better. How are you, though?"

"I'm okay."

"Are you really?"

"No."

"You can talk to me, sweetie. Do you want me to come down?"

"No, it's probably better if you don't. I mean, no offense or anything."

"I understand, dear."

"I'm sorry," Emmett said, choking up. "I'm so sorry! I thought I could take care of her, I really did. This should never have happened. Why didn't I pay more attention to her?"

"Emmett, darling, do you know what happened?"

He cried quietly as he filled her in on what he did know, which really wasn't much. "I really won't know more until she wakes up, if she..."

"Don't talk like that. We need to stay positive for her."

"It's hard when there's a machine keeping her alive," he said, choking on a sob.

"Try not to stress out too much. Do you need me to do anything? Do you need money? Are you sure you don't want me to come down?"

Emmett sighed again. "No, I'm fine. Mr. Alec and Gianna have been taking good care of both of us."

"Gianna?"

"She's an ICU nurse. She's really nice—she makes sure I eat and tries to get me to sleep. She also pays extra attention to Bella. Everyone here has been great.

"Okay, that makes me feel a lot better. If you need anything at all, we're just a phone call away, okay? Anything."

"So, uh, are Alice and Edward okay with this?"

"They are worried sick about Bella and can't wait to see you both."

"Um, could you maybe not tell them the details once we know more? I don't want to make the decision for Bella as to who knows how much."

"No problem, sweetheart. Be safe, and you know where to find me. Don't be afraid to ask for help."

"I'll try. Thanks, Esme, I need to get back to Bella."

* * *

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll let them know."

Esme hung up the phone and let out a jubilant cry. Edward and Alice came skidding around the corner, falling into each other in a heap on the floor.

"Kids! Are you okay?"

Edward groaned as he pulled Alice off him. "Yeah, I'll survive. It's a good thing that she's so small," he said, chuckling.

"What's going on? Why were you yelling? Is everything okay?" Alice said so quickly that Esme barely understood her.

"Bella is awake!"

Edward and Alice lunged at their mother and hugged her before they all danced around. When they finally stopped jumping and dancing, Edward asked if she was okay.

"As far as they can tell, she's okay. She is having some difficulty moving her limbs, but that should come in time. She understands when they speak to her and can communicate by blinking. This is so much better than we expected, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have a difficult recovery ahead of her."

"I'm just happy she's alive," Alice said. "I need to go call Rose to tell her we have more shopping to do. When will they be here?"

"It won't be for another two or three weeks. Bella is still on life support and won't be traveling any time soon, not to mention she only just woke up. A lot will depend on how soon they get her off the ventilator and up and moving again."

"Does Dad know?" Edward asked as he watched Alice dance off to call Rosalie.

"Yes, he was the one who called me."

"Do you know what happened yet?"

"No, we need to find out from Bella. I'm sure that she'll let them know once she is able to speak again."

"I hope she's going to be okay."

"Me too, sweetheart, me too."

* * *

C

arlisle crawled into bed beside his wife and let out an exhausted groan. He lay with his head in her lap, hoping she'd work those magic fingers in his hair.

As if she read his mind, her slender fingers gently massaged his scalp.

"Oh God," he moaned. "You always know what I need." He rubbed his thumb on her stomach.

"Rough night?"

"Mmm...big accident, several fatalities, a lot of blood, a lot of screaming."

"I don't know how you do it day after day. Anything else?"

"Emmett called. He wanted to talk _medical stuff_ as he put it," he chuckled. "Bella came off the ventilator today."

"That's fantastic!"

"She confirmed that James was her abuser."

"Great. Oh, oh, why do I sense a but?"

"But," he paused, choosing his next words carefully so as not to upset his empathetic wife. "She had a panic attack and had to be sedated. It was all too much for her."

"Is she okay?"

"She will be. We're going to have to expect some post-traumatic stress episodes, and we're going to have to be prepared to deal with her lack of trust and potential emotional issues."

"We'll get her through it. Oh, Emmett has asked that we not tell the children any details; he wants Bella to have the choice to tell them, or us, for that matter, in her own time."

"He's a good kid, Esme. I feel for him."

* * *

"Alice, I want to design the reading room. I'll let you decorate—within reason, but I have something in mind." Esme said as she pored over a plan.

"Okay, but..."

"No buts Mary Alice Cullen, that room is mine."

Alice shuddered at her mother's use of her full name. "Fine. Hey, Rose and I have finished stocking her closet and the bedroom is finished. Edward and I are finishing up the living room—well, he's helping me move stuff and picking out games and electronics."

"Can I trust you to do as I wish if I give you what you need to make that reading room work?"

"Can I? Come on, Mom, it's me! Alice! Why is this room so important anyway?"

"I want it to be infused with Renee; I want Bella to seek refuge in there, to escape in a book in a room that reminds her of her mother. From what I've been told, they both share a love of the classics.

"I want to make it a room that Renee would have loved. I'm basing it loosely on the dorm room we shared."

"Classics? Pfft...maybe having a sister won't be as fun as I thought. She and Edward will end up being super dork twins or something and spend all their time discussing Pride and Prejudice or Moby Dick."

"Alice," Esme said, disapprovingly.

"Fine. It all sounds nice, Mom. You hook me up with the goods and I'll make it work."

"Thank you, sweetie. I knew I could count on you."

* * *

Alice ran laps around the house like a toddler strung out on pixie sticks. "They're here! They're here!"

"Where's Edward?" Esme asked.

"He's finishing up at the cottage. They're early. He'll be up soon enough. Come on, let's go greet the newest members of the family." Carlisle replied, putting his arm around her waist.

"I'm nervous, Carlisle, what if...what if she's too..."

He kissed the top of her head. "No time for what ifs, love, it's too late for that. Here they are."

They walked out to the porch to watch as Emmett pulled into the yard, his old Jeep towing a worn U-Haul trailer behind it. Esme smiled and waved when he exited the vehicle. He returned her smile weakly, his dimples barely showing, as he walked to the passenger side. He opened the door and helped his sister out. She swayed dangerously, prompting Esme to step forward with a gasp. Carlisle stopped her.

"He's got her, love."

Emmett steadied his sister, holding her up by the elbow, when all of a sudden Alice screeched and propelled herself off the deck and on top of Bella. "BELLA! You're here!"

"Alice, NO!" Esme called out, but it was too late; Alice had tackled the poor unsteady girl and they landed in a heap on the ground.

Carlisle led Esme down to the new arrivals. Emmett was helping Bella to her feet. Esme gasped quietly when she saw her; she was pale, still sporting traces of bruising on her face and the sparkle Renee always spoke about was gone from her eyes. What minuscule bit of spirit left in this child was buried deep. Hopefully they would help her unearth it.

She hugged her and swore a silent oath to fix this poor broken soul.

* * *

_**Voting is still open until August 25th for the Twilight All Human Fanfiction Awards. If you have a minute, maybe you could pop over and vote for not only my stories, but the other wonderful stories which have been nominated. **_www DOT kwiksurveys DOT com/online-survey DOT php?surveyID=IBONO_5183a9e4

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	3. Carlisle's Unshining Moment

**Outtake #3—Carlisle's Dark and Unshining Moment**

**_This outtake takes place right around Chapters 4-6, when Bella's story is coming out bit by bit. This outtake was requested by _BellaCullen884_. I hope it's what you were looking for, and it might clear up some of the confusion and frustration over his reaction and his less-than-professional approach to Bella's situation.

* * *

_**

"Esme, what do you make of Bella?" Carlisle asked as he pulled on his flannel pajama pants. "Seriously, what is your gut reaction to how she's been behaving? I have my medical suspicions, but I trust your instinct as a mother to get to the heart of the problem; I need another opinion."

"I think we're dealing with a lot more than physical abuse," she replied quietly from the bed. "The vomiting doesn't seem to me to be a rational reaction. Sure, she could be having flashbacks, but it just doesn't gel. Something's off."

"Thank you," he said, walking out of the bathroom. He bent down and kissed her. "I was worried that perhaps I was overreacting, and where my specialty isn't exactly psychology and psychoanalysis, I thought perhaps I was reading more into it."

Esme sighed. "She's a mess; I've never met a more broken little girl. The horrors she endured to receive such incredibly brutal physical scarring are unfathomable. My God, Carlisle, how can someone do such a heinous thing to a girl who has just lost her parents? I just can't for the likes of me comprehend it—it makes no sense."

Carlisle pulled his soft-hearted wife into his arms to soothe her. While her tender spirit was a blessing most of the time, being an empathetic sponge at a time like this had to be tearing her apart, especially now that she knew some of the horrendous circumstances leading to Bella's arrival at their home. He knew that she would now be carrying the burden of Bella's tragic existence upon her own back.

"Try to get some sleep, sweetheart; we've had a long day."

"I can't get the mental picture of her throwing up out of my head. I thought she was going to die, and every time I close my eyes, I see that word branded on her pale skin. How does a child recover from that?"

"With a lot of love and patience."

"She seems to trust Edward."

"I don't even know if she realizes that it's him in the bed with her. She was given quite a bit of Gravol to calm her stomach, and sedatives to settle her down. She was combative when a male nurse approached her; Emmett had to hold her down until we could sedate her."

"She was unconscious when she left here; I didn't realize she had come to."

"Yes, when we arrived at the hospital. She wasn't really lucid though; it was strange."

"I hope she doesn't have a panic attack when she wakes up with Edward." Esme said as she turned out the light.

"Me too."

"Someone needs to talk to her about..."

"Sexual abuse? Yes, I know, and we need to do it soon. For some reason they didn't do a pelvic exam or rape kit on her in Phoenix. I am assuming that her life-threatening injuries took priority, and no one bothered to do it later. We need to determine if she's contracted any STDs or if she could be pregnant."

Esme shuddered. "God, I hope she won't have to deal with any of that; I don't know if she'd survive it."

"I just don't know how or when to bring it up. I think I'm going to call Victoria tomorrow to see what she thinks."

* * *

Carlisle debated long and hard on how to approach Bella. He called his friend and associate Victoria Taylor to seek some advice.

"Well, based on what you've told me, Carlisle, I'm tempted to agree. It sounds to me like there may have been some sexual abuse. You need to address it, there's no doubt, but I can't really tell you how to do it since I don't know Bella. I'm not exactly the best judge of character in this situation until I've had a chance to get a feel for her. Do you think you could convince her to come see me?"

"I'm going to try. As her guardian first and foremost, I don't feel right discussing something so private with her without an outside mediator; but as a physician my primary concern is her health. So, what do I do?"

"Maybe mention it in passing, gauge her reaction, go from there. You've got my number; call me anytime. She's going to need help that you're not able to give."

"Thanks, Victoria. I appreciate it."

* * *

Eventually, a very nervous Bella came up to meet with him. He kept it strictly medical at first; checking her vitals, and making sure she was more stable than she had been the day before. Before he knew it, they had strayed into choppier waters, so he tried to keep it light by steering her in another direction.

When he asked her about how well she slept, she reacted in a most unexpected way: she beamed as she spoke of how Edward had stayed with her and chased away the nightmares.

Carlisle couldn't help but be filled with pride as she spoke of his son so fondly.

His son. Before he knew it, he was telling Bella that Edward was adopted and divulging information he probably shouldn't be sharing without Edward's permission. He told her briefly about Edward Masen Sr., the monster who killed Edward's beautiful, vibrant mother that although it's really no great secret, they don't discuss it much.

Bella shocked him by saying it might have been easier to have lost her parents at a younger age. He was dumbfounded and reacted in a manner of which he wasn't very proud; he was sure he'd made her feel bad, which wasn't his intention. He tried to smooth things out, and then mentally kicked himself when he brought up James and the abuse.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she began to speak about it freely, that is, until he began to insist it wasn't her fault. Deep down he knew he was treading on thin ice, but the father in him responded before the medical professional could. Listening to this poor child blaming herself first for her parents' deaths, and then accepting James' abuse as proper and just punishment for her for causing their deaths cut him as deeply and as painful as someone stabbing him with a blunt, rusty knife. The more she spoke, the more appalled he became; that monster had brainwashed her into believing all the lies that made it possible to abuse her without fear of her telling. He broke down her fragile spirit before breaking down her body.

He tried to reason with her, tried to make her see that they were all lies, but she didn't budge. When she said that she was broken, he nearly lost any composure he had managed maintain. He finally suggested that she speak with Victoria.

The reaction he received wasn't unexpected; she said that she was tired of talking and he could appreciate that. Deciding to reel things back to an area he was more comfortable with, he asked her about her physical wounds again. She seemed to relax a little, assuring him she was fine.

The next words out of her mouth shocked him. "I'll try to be good from now on."

He replayed the words in his head again, sighed, and felt himself deflating; he hadn't gotten through to her. He tried to reassure her before she left, but she wasn't hearing him. James had deafened her to reason.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted out: "Bella, did he...did he sexually violate you? Did James force himself on you?"

He had his answer in a second. He knew without a doubt that Bella had been raped, that her innocence had been stolen and he had no idea how to handle it. He watched her face as a frightening series of reactions and emotions crossed her features. He watched the blood drain from her face, followed by a thin sheen of perspiration which covered her visible skin. Her eyes were wild with fear, then sadness, then abject terror. She ran before he could stop her; he listened helplessly as she ran down the stairs and heard as the other kids called out to her as she fled.

What had he done? How could he have done that to her? The level of unprofessionalism he had just exhibited made him feel ill, but there were bigger problems than that. He ran downstairs.

"CARLISLE! What the fuck did you do to Bella?" Emmett said, storming toward him.

"We need to find her."

"No shit, Sherlock. What happened?"

"Less talking, more walking," Edward suggested.

"No, I need to know."

"Walk with me, son. Did anyone see which way she ran?"

Alice and Rosalie offered to check the cottage while the boys took the woods. Emmett and Carlisle set out together. "Son, I'm sorry she ran off."

"What the hell happened?"

"I don't..."

"Tell me."

"I can't..."

"CARLISLE—tell me!"

"He raped her," Carlisle said, hating to break her confidence in him, what little she might still have, but Emmett needed to know. "James raped Bella."

Emmett stopped, fell to his knees, and shouted, "NO!" He began pounding his head on the damp ground. Carlisle put his arms around the large teen's shoulders to stop him from harming himself.

"Emmett, son, stop. We need to find Bella. We don't want her to get lost in the woods; it's raining and it's going to get dark. We can discuss this later."

"What have I done!"

Carlisle felt Emmett's anguish slice through his heart. Shaking it off, he helped him to his feet. "Come, son, it's not your fault. Let's find your sister and help her. She needs us to be strong and things just became a lot more complicated."

They searched the property, calling out her name as they crashed through trees, bushes, and underbrush. Emmett and Carlisle stayed close together as Carlisle feared Emmett might get upset again.

He was getting ready to call in a Search and Rescue team when Emmett received a call from Edward, letting them know he'd found her.

"How is she? Is she okay?"

Emmett slumped against a tree. "She's really out of it; I could hear her in the background mumbling incoherently. She didn't want anyone but Edward there."

"He makes her feel safe."

"It should be me! I'm her brother! I really fucked things up, didn't I?"

"I know you're upset, but please, Emmett, language."

He mumbled that he was sorry and kicked absently at a branch.

"We're lucky she trusts anyone at all. She flinched when I sat beside her yesterday."

"But she doesn't know you. I'm the one she should feel most comfortable around; I'm the one who holds her at night while she screams in her sleep, and I'm the one who cleans her up when she gets sick."

"She's afraid."

"Oh really? What was your first clue? Aw shit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you."

"He brainwashed her, made her believe this was her punishment and that you'd leave if she told you."

"I know," he replied, glumly. "Can you fix her?"

Emmett's phone rang before Carlisle could reply.

"What? Where? Shit...I'll be right there."

"What is it?"

"Edward's crying and freaking out; he said something about her passing out. I gotta go get her. Meet us back at the house, please?"

Carlisle watched as Emmett ran off through the woods, before turning to run back to the house.

When he arrived, he washed his hands, and called for Esme to grab some supplies and meet him in the guest room.

They both gasped when, moments later, a wet, visibly upset Emmett stormed in carrying a very wet, limp, dirty, Bella into the room, followed by a cold, wet, shirtless, weeping, Edward.

"She's hurt, Dad," Edward said through chattering teeth. "There's...there's a t...tw...twig embedded in her...her...right l...l...leg."

Esme wrapped a blanket around him before returning to tend to Bella. Carlisle assessed Bella's injuries, most of which were superficial. He smiled when he saw his son's handiwork on her leg. "Well done, son. You did the right thing. Esme, can you please pass me my bag? I'll clean her up. Edward, your lips are almost as blue as Bella's. Please go take a shower to warm up before you end up hypothermic."

"I p...p...pr...promised that I...I...I...wouldn't l...l...leave her."

"Son," he replied using his fatherly do-my-bidding-or-else tone.

"Fine. T...T...tell her I'll b...b...be...b...back."

Carlisle looked down at Bella and sighed. Esme was trying to warm her up with blankets and the blue tinge to her lips was finally fading.

"Is she okay?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, she'll be fine. We just need to get her clean and bring her temperature back up. I'm going to deal with this twig, and you'll probably not want to watch. Why don't you go get changed into something dry? I'll call if she wakes up."

Emmett yawned.

"Get some sleep, too. We can handle this."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. You're dead on your feet, son. You're no good to anyone like this. Go. Sleep. We'll call if anything happens."

"Take care of her, Carlisle."

"Always."

Emmett left Carlisle to clean Bella's wounds. It wasn't long before she was warm again and resting comfortably. By this time, a visibly shaken Rosalie and Jasper had gone home, Esme was tending to a distraught Alice, leaving Edward and Carlisle standing vigil over Bella.

"He raped her, didn't he?" Edward asked quietly. "I know you can't confirm or deny it, but there's something more behind this than just physical abuse."

"What makes you think that, son?"

"I just...I can't explain it. It's like there's a dim light on but no one's home; there's something missing. She also has very little self-worth, even for a teenage girl. Trust me, I'm around enough of them to know. It's something she said today too, something about _dying is easy, living is hard_. He really hurt her, Dad. I'm scared for her."

"You're wise for your age, son. Maybe too wise."

"What do we do?"

"We love her unconditionally and try to help her see that she's not ruined; only bruised."

* * *

_**So, that's that. There will be more coming from Carlisle and Esme's perspectives in coming outtakes.**_

_**Voting is still open for the Twilight All-Human Fanfiction Awards, in fact, you can vote numerous times until August 25th. Winners will be announced on August 27th. I need all the help I can get, so if you could swing over to the site and throw a couple of votes my way (or vote for your other favourites), that would be great. **_

twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm


	4. Angel on Earth Heaven in his Mouth

_**SM still owns the kingdom, I just get to play in it and be the court jester.**_

_**This outtake was requested by my wonderful friend **_**Bee93**_**. *waves* Hi B!! B wanted to see what happened with Emmett and Rosalie when they met/hooked up.  
**_

_**It never ceases to amaze me when I see which outtakes you guys would like to see. The more I write them, the more I wonder why I never thought of it before now, or 'why didn't I put that in the original story.' **_

_**This is a short one, but I think it's sweet...in an Em and Rose way. ;) I now present to you: **_**Outtake #4-Angel on Earth/Heaven in his Mouth  


* * *

**

There was no warning when the bombshell went off in several areas of Rosalie Hale's anatomy the first time she laid eyes on Emmett Swan. He was sitting in the Cullen's living room, one thick, masculine, muscled, leg was thrown casually over the arm of the love seat as he played Halo or some Xbox game with Edward.

She felt an exciting tingle in her nether region when he turned to face her. She was pretty sure she creamed her Juicy Couture jeans when he flashed his dimples at her.

"Hey, pretty lady, I'm Emmett and you must be an angel because there's no one on this earth as gorgeous as you are."

A deep blush crept up her cheek. _ What the hell? Snap out of it, Rose, you don't fall for smaltzy bullshit like that. He's obviously a player._

"What? Cat got your tongue? Nod if that's a yes, because I'm really good with pussies."

Edward groaned, stood up, cracked Emmett across the back of the head, and left the room. Alice threw several pillows at him and screamed at him. "ASSHOLE!" She calmed down a little. "Emmett Swan this is my best friend Rosalie Hale and Jasper Hale, her brother and my boyfriend. God! I can't even believe you just said that! You can be such a pig."

Rosalie paid them no mind; her eyes were riveted to the fine male specimen before her. Emmett stood up and her brain froze. He was a god. Big, strong, virile, a smile that could light up a room, and those dimples..._Fuck me,_ she thought.

"Gladly," he said quietly as he passed her to shake Jasper's hand. She shivered.

_Shit, did I just say that out loud? What the hell? This dude kills my inside voice/outside voice with a flash of those dimples. I'm FUCKED!_

Emmett extended a hand to her and she froze. Alice tensed up beside her, just about to intervene, but Rosalie stopped her. With a deep breath, she found the courage to touch him. A jolt of electricity passed between them and she instantly relaxed. Alice stood beside her, her jaw almost dropping to the ground. Jasper was poised for intervention, but none was needed—Rosalie had found her man.

When he leaned down to kiss her hand, she inhaled sharply as another lightning bolt shot down to her damp thong region. Alice and Jasper both tensed up, ready to jump in.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rosalie Hale."

"Yes, I would imagine it is." _Ha! Play coy! Thatta girl!_

"Will you come sit with me?" he asked, his bravado knocked down a notch. He was suddenly coming off as nervous.

_SCORE! _she thought.

When he flashed the dimples at her again, she melted and slid over to the love seat with him and collapsed in a puddle of lovesick goo.

* * *

Emmett would always remember the moment he was born, or rather, reborn, because it was the exact second he first laid eyes on Rosalie Hale. He could have kicked himself for saying what he said about being good with pussies, even though it was totally true, but it was useless. When he was around her, he had no filter.

She was the most incredibly beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beauty put all his previous masturbatory fantasy models to shame. She was tall, lanky, curvy, in all the right places and her smile made his cock hard. _What the hell? Her smile makes me hard? When did I become such a pansy? It should be her rockin' D-cup tits that set me off, or that tight ass that's begging to be spanked, not her fucking smile. Ugh, too much time with Edward's making me all sensitive._

One majorly-defining moment came later that day when Bella and Rose met for the first time and Emmett's heart nearly exploded. He could see that Bella was nervous, but Rose walked up to her and treated her like a sister. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw the look on his confused sister's face when Rose hugged her. Something was whispered between the two of them, making Bella's jaw drop, then she nodded.

Curiosity was getting the best of him so he asked Rosalie what she'd said to Bella.

"That's between us girls," she said, winking at him.

* * *

"Alice, what do you think of Emmett?" Rosalie asked as they went to get a drink.

"I don't know; he seems kind of, uh, abrupt. He's a good guy, though. He's pretty messed up over Bella, though."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"Have you got a crush on my new brother?"

"He's pretty hot, Alice. He's exactly my type and I'm not afraid of him."

"I noticed. I'm so happy for you. After the most recent fiasco with Tyler, I was beginning to wonder if perhaps you'd end up giving up on men and batting for the other team."

Rosalie slapped Alice playfully. "Oh, come on, Ali, give me a break. I've dated plenty of guys since I moved here."

"Yeah, until they get too close, then you rip off their balls and force-feed them back to them with a side order of WTF for breakfast."

"What can I say? I'm not big on grabby hands."

Alice stopped and faced Rosalie. "If he's the one that makes your heart sing, then I say go for it."

They heard screaming as they walked back toward the living room. Bella came screeching down the stairs and tore out the front door. Emmett exploded at Dr. Cullen in a way Rosalie had never seen anyone speak to him before. Dr. Cullen brushed him off briefly and sent them all off to search for Bella.

The girls ran down to the cottage to see if she'd run there, but when there was no sign of her Alice began to cry. "She's such a mess, Rosie. I'm supposed to be her new sister and I can't do a damn thing. I don't know what to do, I don't know exactly what happened to her."

Rosalie wiped away her best friend's tears. "I do."

"You do? How? You just met her."

"He raped her, Alice. I could see it in her eyes."

"Just because you were raped doesn't mean..."

Rosalie cut her off. "What's that supposed to mean, Alice?"

"It's just...I don't...oh, you're probably right. If he tortured her the way he did, he probably raped her too," Alice said, sobbing. "I want to help her. It's not fair that she had to..."

After trying unsuccessfully to smooth out Alice's hair, Rosalie gave her a hug. "Shh, Pixie, we'll get her through it. Now, let's go find her." _We HAVE to find her or Emmett will totally lose it._

* * *

Hooking up with Emmett was going to be hard. Bella was really struggling and time spent with him was usually Bella-centric, but she would wait for him as long as he needed. Edward was a huge help because Bella was spending a lot of time with him because he was good at calming her down and it certainly helped make things easier to deal with.

It was the night before school started and they were sitting out on the deck talking about mundane things when Emmett had a terrible case of verbal diarrhea.

"Rosie, I can't thank you enough for your help. You've kept me from going crazy for the past month."

He took her hand in his. "I'm not good with words like Eddie or smooth like Jasper and I really have no idea how to...ah fuck..Rosie, I see how guys look at you and it pisses me off to no end. I feel all...all..."

"Jealous?" she said, blushing.

"Uh, yeah. I guess that's the right word. I don't like them looking at you like that—you're not a piece of meat, Rosie, you're sweet and kind and you deserve better than that."

He coughed nervously before continuing. "I'm not saying I'm perfect, but...oh hell, I really like you, Rosie. I want to know if you'll...will you..."

"Yes, Emmett, and I like you too. Now hurry up and kiss me, I've been waiting for a month to taste those lips of yours."

He hesitated. She knew why—she had told him about the rape, about her fears of intimacy sometimes.

She cupped his face in her hands. "It's okay, Em. I trust you."

When he slowly moved his lips to hers and they touched for the first time, Rosalie knew without a doubt that there was a heaven, and she'd found it. When he ever so gently sucked her bottom lip and nipped at it with his teeth, she sighed and knew she was home. There would never be fear where Emmett was concerned.

She opened her mouth to sigh again and he slowly moved his tongue to lick her lip. At the first taste of him, she fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him closer. She needed more. Her tongue snaked out and dipped into his mouth, dancing with his tongue. There was no battle royale for dominance; it was the slow, languid, waltz of newfound lovers getting to know one another.

Eventually they pulled apart; breathless, flushed, lips swollen and eyes shining. Emmett's dimples appeared and Rosalie swooned. Most of the girls at school were crazy about boys who looked like Edward and Jasper, but not Rosalie. She was an Emmett fan through and through. He fit her perfectly and now he was hers.

She kissed him again and growled _MINE_ before she got up to leave.

Emmett's pants were suddenly a lot tighter and he winced when he moved to playfully slap her ass. "You bet your sexy ass that you're mine."

Rosalie said her goodbyes and skipped out to her car and as soon as the door was shut, she squealed louder than a group of rabid Robert Pattinson fans.

"Emmett fucking Swan is MINE!"

* * *

_**So there it is. Keep the outtake ideas coming! I've got a really long one that falls between Branded and Road Maps that's almost ready to put up, but I don't want to bounce around too much. So, here's where I need your help. Do I post these outtakes as chronologically as possible or do I just post them as they're written? Drop me a line/review and let me know.**_

_**Also, voting is still open until the end of the week (August 25) for the Twilight All Human Fanfiction Awards. Please pop on over to vote for your favourites. **_twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm


	5. Colour Me Grateful

**_Again, SM owns everything but my sore, itchy, allergic eyes, and I wish she did because I'm sick of them. :)_**

**_This is a short outtake...very short. I'm sorry. I'll have a much longer one up soon. I'm churning them out like crazy but not in chronological order. I should be caught up soon. :)_**

**_This outtake goes out to _ceara1888_ who wanted to know more about when Bella gave paintings to Victoria. Thanks, ceara!_**

**Outtake 5--Bella L'Artiste**

Bella blew an errant piece of hair from her face both as a way to get rid of the offending hair, but also as a means to blow off some steam. She stood with Edward and Esme in the music room scrutinizing the display of paintings before them. It was time to pick out which ones she would give to Victoria.

Edward stood back and rubbed his chin with his fingers, lost in thought. Esme had one hand on her slender hip, the other running through her bronze hair. Bella had her arms wrapped around herself and chewed on her lip. This was harder than she thought it would be.

"I…I just don't know," she finally said.

Esme let out a breath and moved to put her arm around Bella's shoulders. "Did she mention which ones she wanted?"

"She said she didn't care. I wanted to give her something with earthy tones, something that would compliment the décor of her office."

"Okay, that leaves us with a much smaller list of possibilities. How many did she want? Gosh, Bella, I don't know how you managed to finish so many paintings in such a short period of time; they're so detailed, so involved."

"It's because she's awesome, that's why," Edward said, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

Bella rolled her eyes, making Esme giggle. "Alrighty then, let's pack up these three, and take them to Victoria before I change my mind."

"You underestimate your abilities, my dear," Esme said, pulling her into a tight, motherly hug. "She's going to love them."

* * *

"Um, Victoria?"

"Bella! Edward! My two favourite people. To what do I owe this visit?"

"You're not busy, are you?" Bella asked nervously.

"No, no, not at all, just getting caught up on some paperwork. Wait, what's wrong? Why do you look like you're just about to make a mad dash to my garbage can? Should I…Oh! What do you have there?"

"Er, well, they're the paintings you asked for. I hope they're okay, I could do better ones, really, if you don't…"

Edward cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. "Shh, love, calm down."

Bella held out three brown paper-wrapped canvases. "I hope you like them."

Victoria opened the first one; it was a series of wild brush strokes done in black, reds, and highlighted with terra cotta and sand-coloured swipes.

"Well, uh, that one came after a session we had, one of the really bad ones when we dug up a lot of crap and it lingered for a while. In fact, this is one of the first paintings I did. I was feeling trapped in the dark, thus the dark colours, duh." Bella smacked herself in the head. "Anyway, after I painted it, I thought back to something you had said about just getting it out there and dealing with it, taking control of it before it controlled me. The light tones come from that; it's you being my light in the darkness and telling me to get it out. Did that make sense?"

"Wow, that's wild," Victoria said.

Edward unwrapped and held up the second piece.

"Oh my God, Bella, that's…wow…"

"So, uh, this one is me looking into a mirror."

"But you have no face."

Bella blushed. "No. I didn't feel like I had one the day I painted it."

"How so?"

"I couldn't talk at the time, so really, I had no mouth. I was also having a really anxious day too and I was feeling blinded and deafened by it all. I was still very much in search of _Bella_ at that point; James had stolen so much from me that I didn't always feel like I knew who I was, or that the old Bella even existed anymore."

Victoria fingered the canvas. "It's so detailed, it's like I can run my fingers through your hair. Are you sure you want to give this to me?"

Bella nodded.

The third painting was a desertscape of sorts with an oasis where two very small dark figures stood off in the distance under a palm tree.

"This one is so, ugh…predictable. I'm stuck in the desert; thirsty, struggling, and in the distance is my oasis, my saving grace."

"Who are the tiny people?"

Bella blushed a deeper crimson. "You and Edward. I always feel like if I can get to you two, you'll help me. I imagined that you would be waiting for me with water and anything else I'd need."

Edward hugged her. "We will, you know."

Victoria held her arms out for a hug. "We'll always have your back, baby girl. Thank you so much for this."

"It's the least I could do. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for you. I know we have a long way to go before I'm anywhere near normal, but I'm thankful for what you've helped me accomplish so far," Bella said, sniffling into Victoria's voluminous red curls.

"Oh, Bella, you'll never be normal. You'll only ever be extraordinary. Trust me. Now, before we all end up in a big blubbery mess, why don't we hang these masterpieces up. I can't wait until you're famous some day and I can brag to my clients that I knew you _back then_ and that these were a gift from you."

Bella snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

**_So yeah, that took you all of about 2 seconds to read. I know you like longer bits, and I'm sorry, I just couldn't drag this out any longer without totally wrecking it._**

**_I think the next one might be what happened after James' second attack at the end of _Branded, _as requested by the lovely _lulu-beth_._**

* * *


	6. BANG!

_**SM owns the farm, I just play with the animals.**_

_**This outtake was requested by the loverly **_**lulu-beth._ I hope it's everything you hoped for (or at least a little). This chapter was a little harder to write than I had anticipated because it made me want to change some things in the original story, and when I do the overhaul (when I have time) I will probably tweak it again._**

**_So, this takes place between Ch 22 and Ch 23 of _Branded_. I now present to you: _**_**Outtake #6 : BANG

* * *

**_

Edward's ears rang from the close-range gunshot. It took him a moment to realize that he had fallen on top of James, who was bleeding profusely, his breaths coming out in strangled, wet, gurgles. His blue eyes began to glaze over and finally, any semblance of life dimmed as his body relaxed one last time.

"BELLA!" Alice screamed, pulling Edward's attention away from the corpse beneath him. He jumped to his feet and ran to the bed where a partially clothed Bella fought for every breath she took. He pushed Alice aside, pulled the t-shirt from Bella's face and gasped; her lips were turning blue and her eyes were wide, unseeing, and full of terror.

"Come on, Bella, breathe. Don't you leave me!" Edward screamed, tears streaming down his face. "Dad! Help her!"

Carlisle ran over and quickly assessed her. "Son, she needs air and she's not able to do it herself. Do you remember..."

Before Carlisle could finish what he was saying, Edward had gently tilted her head back, pinched her nose and sealed her mouth with his own. He gave her five gentle puffs while his father listened to her chest.

"I don't know how badly crushed her windpipe is, and this might end up being futile, but she seems to be getting some air. I don't know if it's going to be enough...EMMETT SWAN! Stop kicking James! He's already dead."

Edward looked over, as he breathed for his beloved, to watch his father and the security guard try to wrestle Emmett away from the lifeless form of his former best friend.

"YOU DIRTY, FUCKING, BASTARD! You're lucky you're already dead because I'd fucking kill you if you weren't," he said, kicking at the body. "HOW COULD YOU? I TRUSTED YOU! SHE WAS JUST A KID!"

"Calm down, Emmett, please." Carlisle turned back to Bella and Edward. He held her wrist, checking her pulse. Then he listened to her chest again as Edward continued to breathe for her.

"Her heart rate is steady, which is amazing, all things considered, but we need to get her intubated before her airway swells shut." He reached up and gently closed her eyes, which had remained open. "How're you doing, Edward? Do you need a break?"

"No," he said between breaths. "I'm," _puff_ "doing," _puff_ "fine."

The ambulance arrived ten minutes later and Edward had to be dragged away screaming, from Bella so she could be properly intubated. He cried as they watched them working on her, silently pleading with her to hold on.

Forlorn and worried members of the family watched tearfully as they took her out to the ambulance. As Edward started to insist he get to ride to the hospital with her, he suddenly collapsed into his father's arms. Exhausted and lightheaded, the twenty-plus minutes of rescue breathing he had given her had taken its toll on him. Emmett carried him out to the car and sat with him in the back seat, keeping an eye on him.

"How's he doing?" Carlisle asked as they sped toward the hospital, following the ambulance. Esme had gone with Bella, leaving Carlisle to watch Edward.

"He's pretty pale, he's clammy, and he's starting to pant like a dog."

Alice, sweetie, give Emmett your sweater. There should also be a blanket under your seat. Can you cover him up? Sounds like he might be going into shock."

They arrived at the hospital just as the paramedics were unloading Bella. Carlisle grabbed a gurney for Edward and he was whisked away from them. Emmett wrapped his arms around Alice, who was crying, and tried to hold it together himself.

Carlisle ran in to check on Bella. Esme was crying in the hallway outside the curtained area where they were assessing her. He told her where to find Emmett and Alice.

"Dr. Sloane, how's she doing?"

"Dr. Cullen, her O2 sats aren't too bad; her windpipe is starting to swell, but she's holding her own. We aren't sure of the extent of the damage to her airway though. We were lucky she was able to be properly intubated.

Carlisle stood by the bed as he watched them work. A nurse continued to bag her until they could get her hooked up to a ventilator. Bruises were beginning to appear on her neck.

"She was raped," he said quietly to Dr. Sloane. "I don't know to what extent, but she'll require a pelvic exam."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen. We've got everything under control here. Why don't you go be with your family. I'm sure they need you."

"Thank you. Please take good care of her; she's very special to us all."

Dr. Sloane patted his colleague's shoulder. "We will."

Edward was thrashing around on the gurney. He pulled the oxygen mask from his face. "Bella!" he cried out.

Carlisle approached him and took his hand. "Shh, son. Calm down. Everything is okay. She's doing fine. You need to calm down; you're in shock. Lay back, please."

Edward flopped back on the bed and sobbed. Nothing Carlisle did calmed him down so he asked for Esme to be brought in. She crawled onto the narrow gurney, held her hysterical son in her arms, and rocked him until the sedative they'd administered kicked in and he went limp.

"How's Bella?" Esme asked her husband as she pushed her son's unruly, sweaty, hair out of his face.

"She's doing well, considering."

Dr. Sloane entered Edward's curtained area to speak with them. Emmett and Alice were summoned to join them.

"Bella is stable. Her oxygen levels are improving and her heart rate has slowed, which is good. Her windpipe was badly bruised and until the swelling goes down she will need to remain on the ventilator. We weren't sure if we were going to have to perform a tracheotomy or not. If the swelling doesn't go down..."

Alice crumpled on the floor, sobbing. Carlisle picked her up and set her on his lap as he sat in a chair. He cradled her, allowing her to cry.

Dr. Sloane knelt down in front of them. "Alice, sweetie, Bella's going to be okay."

"But...but.." she hiccupped, "but you...you were going to...to...to cut her th...thr...thoat."

"I'm pretty confident that we won't have to. Please calm down, sweetie. It was just a possibility, not a sure thing. She's doing a lot better now; Edward saved her. Your brother is a hero, Alice."

She took a couple of staggered breaths and smiled through her tears. "So they'll b...both be okay?"

The doctor smiled. "Yes, they will. Bella will need a while to recover, but Edward should be fine to leave when he wakes up."

"What happened to Edward?"

Carlisle hugged her. "He was tired from breathing for Bella, so he was a little lightheaded and he was in shock. He's doing much better, now that he's resting. We're giving him some oxygen and some fluids and just watching to make sure that he's okay. He didn't get hurt when he jumped James."

"Dr. Cullen, do you mind telling me how this all happened?"

"Yeah, Dad. Where's James? Is he going to go to jail, finally?"

"James is dead, sweetheart. The security guard shot him and he died. Someone remind me to both thank and slap that guard. He could have shot Edward!"

"Who is this James? Did you know him?"

"Why don't we go check on Bella and I'll fill you in. My family doesn't need to relive this nightmare again."

* * *

"Bella?" Edward cried out weakly. He tried to sit up, but his head was swimming, inciting a groan. "Who slipped me the roofie? My head is so..." His stomach lurched, but he managed to keep it down. "Where am I?"

"At the hospital, sweetie."

"Mom, where's Bella?"

"She's up in the ICU. She's going to be okay."

"Really?"

"You saved her life, Edward," Emmett said gruffly.

"Really?" He was shocked.

"Yes, you heroic dumbass," he mumbled before he looked directly at him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, I think," he said, stretching. "What happened anyway? Why am I here?"

"You passed out and you went into shock. You'll survive, though."

"Why aren't you guys with Bella?"

"Carlisle and Alice are with her. We wanted to be sure you weren't alone when you woke up. Bella's in a light, drug-induced, coma right now. She won't be waking up for at least another day."

"What? Why?" Edward said, panicking.

"Calm down, sweetie. It's so her windpipe can heal. It's better for her this way."

"I want to see her, please."

"When you're discharged we'll take you up. Dr. Sloane will be in to see you shortly. I can go get him if you'd like."

"Yes, please."

When Esme left the two boys alone, Edward spoke to Emmett. "So, she'll really be okay?"

Emmett nodded.

"Thank God. I thought she...oh God, Em, it was horrible!" Edward pulled the blanket of his head to hide the tears that were beginning to surface.

Emmett pulled the blanket away and hugged Edward awkwardly. "It's okay, little brother. I won't call you a girl—this time."

Smiling briefly at the big guy, he moved to wipe his eyes. "It all happened so fast. I walked in, saw him...oh God, he raped her again, Em. I didn't get there fast enough. He had her head covered with her t-shirt, his hand was around her throat...oh Jesus...I was too late...she'll never forgive me. I'm supposed to protect her, I promised! She's going to hate me!" He continued to sob on Emmett's broad shoulder.

"Now you know how I've felt for the past few months," Emmett said quietly before his struggle to keep his own tears at bay faltered and he lost it. He held on to Edward tightly and sobbed.

When Edward composed himself a bit, he whispered to Emmett, "Can you forgive me?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Edward. It's not your fault. If anything, you saved her life."

"James...he's, uh, dead?"

"Yup."

"So it's over?"

"Yup," Emmett replied with a big sigh, wiping the tears from his face.

"Edward? Emmett?" Rosalie said quietly as she and Jasper entered the room.

"Baby!" Emmett cried out as she ran to embrace him. A new flood of tears overtook him as Rosalie led him out of the room.

Jasper hopped up on the bed with Edward. "Well, Mr. Hero, when are they springing you from here? Nice nightie, by the way; baby blue is really your colour," he said pulling on Edward's Johnny shirt.

Edward laughed at his best friend. "Thanks, I needed that."

"Is Bella going to be okay?"

Edward's smile faltered. "I don't know. They say she'll be fine. I hope so."

"Oh, she will be, I don't have any worries about her. Are you going to be okay?"

"I was just tired, I guess. I'm fine."

"No, are you really going to be okay?"

Edward sighed heavily. "I have to. I don't have a choice. I have to get her through this."

"Dude, you need to take care of yourself before you can help her. I...I...uh...just want you to know that I'm here for you if you want to talk."

"Thanks, man."

* * *

The rubber-treaded wheels squeaked on the linoleum floors of the hallway as Carlisle wheeled Edward toward the ICU.

"She's intubated and has several lines in and out of her."

"I know."

"I just didn't want you to be surprised."

"I'm okay, Dad."

Carlisle stopped the wheelchair and crouched in front of his son who was trying very hard to put on a brave face. "You don't have to, son."

"Don't have to what?"

"Be so strong."

"Yes, I do," Edward said, setting his jaw and swallowing the lump growing in his throat as he stared his father in the eye.

"No you don't. It's okay to be scared; it's okay to be upset."

"I need to see her."

Sighing, Carlisle pushed him into Bella's room. He cringed when he heard the gasp that whooshed out of his son's lungs.

Unsteadily, Edward stood up and walked to Bella's bed where he crawled in beside her, careful not to unplug anything. Carlisle stood by and watched with a heavy heart as his son completely unravelled.

"Bella love, I'm here now," he whispered to her as he ran his hand over her pale cheek. He looked down to the purple bruises on her neck. "Oh, love, what I have I done? I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I promise from now on that I'll never let anything happen to you again. Please be okay," he said before he began sobbing. "I love you. Please don't leave me."

* * *

Esme tried for two days to pry Edward away from Bella. He hadn't left the hospital since the night of the incident. Carlisle had grabbed a pair of scrubs for him to wear, but Edward refused to go take a shower, too afraid she'd wake up and he'd not be there. It was bad enough that she'd started to come to when he was in the bathroom. Now it was almost impossible to get him to go pee when he had to go.

"Edward, sweetheart, you stink. You need to go shower. Please! I've brought you a change of clothes. You don't want your stench to be the first thing she notices when she wakes up."

"But she could wake up and I won't be here. What if..."

Emmett stepped up to him. "Dude, you reek. Please go take a shower. If you don't go on your own steam, I'm prepared to drag you in and wash you myself."

The thought of being stripped down and scrubbed by Emmett was enough to make him change his mind. "Fine. If she wakes up, you come get me."

"Yes, we promise."

Carlisle led his foul-smelling son off to the showers in the doctor's locker room and left him to get cleaned up. He took a long, hot shower, being certain to clean every nook and cranny. After he dried off and was mostly dressed, he sat on a couch in the lounge to put on some socks and fell asleep.

The next thing he knew, Emmett is shaking him and pulling him into a fireman's carry.

"What? What's wrong?" he said groggily.

"She was awake!"

"What? When?"

"It wasn't for long; she freaked out and passed out again."

"I should have been there!"

"Dude, she'll be happier to see you clean than deal with your hobo-scented funk."

As soon as Emmett set him down, he took off at a sprint. He crawled into her bed and held her. His heart soared when her heart monitor indicated that she was stirring, and he wanted to explode with fruit flavour when he saw her eyelids fluttering. He knew she was okay when he saw recognition in her eyes and when she gave him a thumbs up when he turned out the lights.

He begged her forgiveness until she fell asleep in his arms. As he watched her sleep, he made a solemn oath that he would never let anything happen to her again. He'd let her down once and that would be the last time.

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed that, lulu.**_

_**Next up, another short outtake that involves some "experimentation" between Bella and Edward, as requested by **_**BellaCullen884_. I should hopefully have it up sometime on Sunday unless Hurricane Bill hits us really hard._**

**_Voting is still open for a few more days for the Twilight All-Human Fanfiction Awards. Please pop over and vote for your favourites! _**twilightallhumanawards DOT webs DOT com/voting DOT htm**  
**


	7. Chasing Ghosts & Other Impossible Things

_**SM owns Edward, I own an Angstward. He's currently hanging out in my messenger bag :)**_

_**After an interesting exchange of ideas and suggestions with the wonderful **_**Openhome**_** (you should really go read her fanfic '**_**Singularity'**_** about Alice, and what happened in those years before she found Jasper) I thought I would look ahead a little, a couple of months after the end of **_**Branded**_**, to see how the gang is making out. As you are about to see, the torment, the anguish, the pain, and the horrors, didn't just disappear at the end of **_**Branded_ in fact, there was a long road of healing ahead of them, as there often is for abuse survivors and their loved ones. This is just a peek into it all.  
_**

**_For those of you who love the angst, read on. For those of you who are sick of the angst, you may decide not to read beyond this intro. Language is a little more mature because we have some very angry and upset people on our hands, and there are potential trigger issues discussed in this chapter. I won't say you'll need a tissue for this chapter because I really don't know if you will. It's angsty, so you might want to keep a small one on hand just in case.  
_**

**_If you're still reading, then I present to you, _Outtake #7-Chasing Ghosts and Other Impossible Things**

**

* * *

**

"Isabella Marie Swan!"

Bella ignored the sound of Emmett calling her by her full name as she re-organized her book collection. Instead of filing them alphabetically by title, she was lining them up by size on one shelf; by year of publication on the next, then alphabetically by author, and so on.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!"

_No time, _she thought. _Gotta get these books sorted out._

Strong hands grabbed her. "NO!" she screamed, backing into the corner. "NO! NO! NO!" she continued hollering at the top of her lungs.

Emmett held his hands up in surrender. "Easy, Belly, it's just me."

Sliding down the wall, she grabbed her knees and began rocking.

"Aw geez, I thought we were done with this," he said, squatting down beside her. "You were doing so much better. What happened at school? Why did you skip this afternoon?"

"Everything is fine," she mumbled.

"No, it's not. Seriously, what's your damage? If you keep skipping school you're going to get kicked out. Esme is up at the house freaking out."

Pulling herself to her feet, Bella resumed the task of reorganizing the books in her reading room.

"Belly?"

"I'm busy, Emmy. Can we talk later?"

"Uh, sure."

Emmett called up to the house and asked Esme to come down to the cottage. He went out to sit on the step while he waited; it was too hard watching Bella rearranging books. This strange behaviour had started when she got out of the hospital, after James had tried to kill her. Whenever she got upset, she could be found rearranging books.

"Sweetheart, what's going on? Did you find out why she skipped school?" Esme said to Emmett.

"No, she's, uh, doing the book thing again."

"Oh, dear. Where's Edward?"

"He's over at Jazzy's house. I don't even know if he knows she cut out early. Should I call him?"

"I think you should."

"Victoria too?"

"Not yet, but keep her number handy."

* * *

Edward groaned when his phone buzzed and he saw who was calling.

"Man, I can't get away from anyone, anymore," he mumbled, silencing his phone and returning his gaze to the 60" TV in front of him.

"Who is it?" Jasper asked, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"No one, keep playing."

He ignored his phone when it went off a second and third time.

"Maybe it's urgent."

"Maybe it's not."

"What if it's Bella?"

Edward sighed. "It's ALWAYS Bella."

Jasper turned to face his best friend. "What do you mean by that? Are you two having problems?"

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I don't fucking know, alright? There's always something wrong with her. I mean, I love her so much, it kills me to see her struggling. I honestly thought that with James dead everything would be good, be better. Some days it's worse."

"What did you expect? She was brutally raped over an extended period of time by a psycho who came back, tracked her down, broke into your house, and did it again while trying to kill her. Of course she's going to have issues. You knew that. Don't you..."

"Don't you what, Jazz? Don't you screw it up, Edward. Bella's having a meltdown; hum to her, Edward. Bella's throwing up again; go to her, Edward," he began pacing and pulling on his hair. "It's ALWAYS about Bella! What about me?" He wheeled around and threw the game controller onto the couch. "Who's there when I have a meltdown because this is too much for a kid to handle? I'm only sixteen! Who has time to help me?"

Edward flipped his phone open. "What?!" he screamed. He was quiet for a moment and Jasper noticed all the colour leave his face. "Shit, I'm sorry, Em. I'll be right there."

"What's going on?"

"Bella's freaking out. The irony the timing of this is delicious."

"What about you?"

Exhaling loudly, Edward looked at Jasper looking truly exhausted. "Isn't that the question of the day? I'm sorry, I have to go."

"It's okay, but this conversation is far from over. I'm worried about you, buddy."

"I have to go. See you later, Jazz."

* * *

Esme approached her quietly. "Bella?"

"Mmm..." she hummed as she moved another book.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, why?" _ Shit, these don't look right. Maybe I should start over again in ascending alphabetical order by author._

"You're arranging books."

"Yes. Look, Esme, is this important? I'm kind of busy."

"Can you please stop for a moment?"

"No."

"Please? We need to talk."

"No." _Good Lord, what part of NO doesn't she understand?_

Esme cautiously put her hand on Bella's shoulder. Immediately she tensed up, then pulled away.

"Don't touch me," she hissed.

Gasping, Esme withdrew her hand. _What had happened to sweet Bella to make her so edgy? Even at her worst, she had never been like this._

"Sweetie," Esme said, reaching out again.

"I SAID DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Bella threw the book in her hand across the room.

"Please calm down, Bella."

Grabbing another book, she turned and threw it, knocking over a lamp. "NO!"

"What's wrong, dear? What's going on? What happened at school today?" Esme flinched internally when she realized that peppering Bella with so many questions was going to be counterproductive.

Bella grabbed another book and threw it before she began smashing her head on the bookcase.

"BELLA!"

Esme watched helpless as the poor girl fell to the floor, covered her ears, and screamed.

Emmett came flying into the room. "What the hell is going on? Why is Bella smashing her head on the wall? Why is she screaming? Belly, chill the hell out!"

The louder he yelled, the louder she screamed and the harder she smashed her head on the bookcase.

Esme tried to get close to her but each time she did, a book was hurled in her direction. She motioned for Emmett to follow her out of the room. "Where's Edward?"

"He's on his way."

"How long?"

"Shouldn't be too long; he was only over at Jasper's, so he's not far."

"I don't know what to do. She's getting worse, son," Esme said, sitting down on the stairs beside him. "She can't continue to live like this; it's not fair to her or to the rest of us. I think we need to call Carlisle and Victoria."

"They'll just want to drug her and lock her up. We can't do that."

"Listen to her, Emmett, something is eating her up."

Bella's screams were starting to quiet, but she was still distraught.

Edward rushed over, breathless. "Why is she screaming?"

Esme shook her head. "I don't know."

"Emmett?" he asked. "Do you know?"

"No, I was hoping you did. Did you know she skipped school this afternoon?"

"No. What the hell is going on with her? She's been acting strange lately. What do we do?" Edward said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Is she rearranging books again?"

"Yup."

"Shit. Mom, did you call Victoria yet?"

"No, I wanted to see if you could reason with her."

He sighed. "I don't know if I'll make a lick of difference."

"Please try," Emmett said, "I'm begging you."

With those words, it suddenly felt like the weight of the world was crushing him. He tried to straighten his posture, shake off the fear of what he would find, and paste a smile on his face before entering Bella's inner sanctum.

A loud gasp escaped him. Books were strewn on the floor, a lamp was broken, there was a hole in the wall and she was curled up in a ball, knocking her head on the wall behind her.

"H...hi, love."

"Mmm..."

"Bella, love, what's wrong?"

"Mmm..." she continued to hum.

He crouched down beside her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped humming and looked at him. The look in her eyes frightened him; it was a cross between vacant and terror. She tried to smile at him, but couldn't quite complete it, instead, she smashed her head with her hands. Edward reached out and grabbed them, pulling her close to him in a tight hug and rocked with her. He hummed her lullaby and she started to calm down.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"Shh, love. There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I was bad, Edward. Please don't be mad."

"I won't be, love. What happened?"

"No," she shook her head. "It's nothing." She tried to stand up.

"Where are you going?"

"I made a mess, I need to clean it up." She busied herself with picking up the books she'd thrown and kicking aside the pieces of broken lamp.

"Esme's mad at me," she whispered. "Everyone is mad. Why can't I be normal?"

"I didn't catch that, love."

"Nothing."

Edward stood up, marched over to her, and turned her to face him. "Bella, snap the fuck out of it! What happened today? Why did you leave school?"

Bella whirled around and started throwing books again. "SNAP OUT OF IT? SNAP OUT OF IT? LISTEN TO YOURSELF, EDWARD! DO YOU THINK I ENJOY THIS?"

She continued to yell as she hurled her beloved books at him while he cowered behind the settee. "DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW? MR. VARNER GRABBED MY ARM AND I FREAKED OUT—IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! Then Ben saw me running and tried to stop me and I hit him! All I could see, smell, hear, feel was HIM!"

Falling to her knees, she continued to sob. "Why won't he go away, Edward? Why won't he leave me alone? He's always going to be here, isn't he?"

Edward crawled over to her and held onto her as tight as he possibly could. "James is dead, love."

"No, he's still here."

"He's dead; I watched him die."

"His ghost won't stop haunting me," she sobbed.

Edward couldn't hold back his own tears. They held each other and cried until Esme came in and cried with them. Even Emmett struggled to compose himself.

"I'm so broken," Bella whimpered.

"No, you're bruised. It'll get better," Esme said.

"Why didn't you let him kill me? It might have been easier for you guys. I'm a mess. It's not fair to you guys."

"Bella, we love you too much to let you die."

"Why? Why do you love me? How can you love me? I ruin everything."

Edward tightened his grip on her. "I love you because you make me want to live."

Emmett was next. "I love you because you're my baby sister and for some reason you still love me even though I totally failed you."

Esme pushed an errant strand of hair behind Bella's ear. "I love you because you are a strong girl who radiates love and you remind me of your mother. You possess all of her wonderful qualities.

"You are very easy to love, Bella. I realize this is hard, and this is something we might not understand and you're feeling lost, but we're here to find you and we'll wait until you're ready to be found. Maybe Rosalie could come over to talk to you? She understands better what you're dealing with than we do."

"I just want it to end. I'm tired of being scared."

Edward kissed her forehead. "Someday, love. Someday you'll feel stronger and the fear won't be so hard to ignore."

Bella jumped up, her eyes red and swollen, her cheeks tear-stained, and snot running out of her nose. "SOMEDAY? FUCK SOMEDAY! I want this to be over NOW!"

"Smooth move, Assward," Emmett mumbled.

"Care to repeat that?" Edward said, standing up.

"SMOOTH MOVE, ASSWARD!" he shouted, standing chest-to-chest with Edward. "She was calm and now she's freaking out again."

"What do you want from me, Emmett? I'm a fucking kid! I'm sixteen years old! What do I know about THIS? What kind of expertise do I have in the area of gluing together the broken pieces of the person I love more than life itself? I can't fix her any better than anyone else. You always expect me to make it better. Who's going to fix me?" Edward said, storming out of the house.

Bella began to wail, her heart feeling like it was shattering into a million pieces. Emmett ran to her while Esme ran after Edward. She found him crying on the path to the main house.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay, Mom? Really, do I look okay?"

"I didn't realize you felt that way."

"I didn't expect you to, I didn't advertise it."

Esme led him to the back stairs of the main house where they sat down. She wrapped her son in her arms and tried to absorb some of his pain.

"I thought you were talking to Victoria about this."

"I have been, but the fact remains that EVERYONE expects me to drop everything and fix her. I can calm her down, but I can't fix it. He destroyed her, Mom, and I'm scared we'll never get her back.

"Not only that, I feel like I'm not only letting her down, but I'm letting everyone else down. Emmett is too thick to understand that."

"No, honey, he's so blinded by the need to protect her that she's his primary focus. It's because of that that he can't see you struggling," she said, running her fingers through his hair. "We also can't help you if you don't tell us that you're drowning. It's great that you're talking to Victoria about it, but we're still in the dark. Please keep us in the loop because nobody can help anyone this way. We need to work together. Right now we need to get Bella calmed down. Tonight, I want you to have a chat with your father."

She hugged him tighter. "I love you so much, Edward. It hurts me to see you like this. You can't save the world, son, at least not alone."

Edward sighed. "I'm tired of fighting this, Mom. It's starting to feel like an unwinnable battle. James is always going to be in the shadows and I don't know how to chase a ghost."

"You just need to be a light, sweetie; be her beacon so the ghost and the monsters stay away."

"Be a knight in shining armour," he said, scoffing.

"No, I didn't say that. Just be a light. Bella is floundering in the dark; she needs some guidance. Don't give up on her."

Edward sighed again and whipped the last of the tears from his face. "I won't, Mom. I love her too much."

"I know, sweetheart, we all do."

"I can't lose her."

"You won't."

Edward's head snapped up at the sound of Bella's voice. "Bella."

"Edward, I'm sorry."

Esme stood to leave. Bella held up her hand to stop her. "Esme, I'm so sorry I destroyed the reading room. I...I don't know how or why..."

"Sh, dear. It happens. It will happen again. It's just stuff and stuff can be replaced. You," she said, hugging her, "you are much too precious to all of us and you are irreplaceable. Be safe, sweetheart. I love you very, very, much."

"Thanks."

Bella and Edward were left alone on the steps, although Emmett and Esme weren't far away in case there was need for an intervention. She inched closer to him, slowly. "I'm..."

He cut her off. "Stop apologizing, Bella."

"You're mad."

"No. Yes. I don't know."

"What can I do?"

"You can stop bottling everything up until you explode."

She chuckled quietly. "Uhm, hello...pot meet kettle."

"I'm working on it," he said glumly. "You want to hear what I'm thinking? Do you really?"

Her head bobbed.

"You're positive? You have to promise not to freak out."

She held out her pinky. He hooked his with it, then pulled her closer to him. Patting his lap, she slowly sat with him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you heard most of it back at the cottage. I'm overwhelmed, Bella. It feels like everyone is counting on _me_ to make you better, but I can't, and it's killing me. There's too much pressure on me. I desperately want to make this better, make you better, make us better, but I can't do it alone.

"Some days I feel like I'm drowning, and no one ever throws me a lifeline because they're always preoccupied with you. I know—" he said, cutting her off before she could say anything. "I know, I must sound like a total jerk, very selfish and self-centered, but I can't help you if I'm drowning at the bottom of the ocean. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"And?"

"And what? What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Tell me what you're thinking?"

She sighed and nuzzled his neck. "Just hold me. Make the crazy go away. You're the only one who can."

"Did you not just listen..."

Bella cut him off with a kiss. "Please. All I need right now is to hold you, have you hold me, and tell me everything will be okay."

Edward wanted to scream with frustration, but he couldn't; not now. For now, he would hold her and pretend everything was okay.

* * *

Edward left Bella and Esme to clean up the mess in the reading room while he spoke to his father.

"Hi, Dad," he said quietly. "Um, you wanted to see me?"

"Hi, son. I did want to see you. Come sit," he said as he motioned toward the couch.

The nervous teenager in Edward reared its head when it saw the couch; having discussions with his father in the office always made him feel like he'd done something wrong.

"Are you okay? You're awfully pale."

"It's been a rough day," he replied sadly.

Carlisle sat beside him and sighed. "Your mother filled me in on what happened with Bella."

"It's never going to be easy, is it, Dad?"

Gently patting his son's leg, he shook his head. "No, son, I don't think it will. A lot of damage has been done; it's not going to go away just because James is gone. There's a lot of healing that has to happen, and it's not just Bella who needs it. Emmett needs to find some peace with what's happened. You need to figure out what role you are going to play in her healing and you need to find your own path to wellness."

"Dad, can you please just talk to me like a Dad and not a doctor?"

Carlisle laughed. "I'm sorry, son, it seems lately I'm struggling to differentiate between the two roles."

"I don't need to heal, Dad. I'm not broken."

"I beg to differ. You may not be _broken_, but you're hurting—that much is obvious from your outburst today. You need to figure out if you can handle this for the long haul."

"What do you mean?"

"Can you handle Bella and the baggage that comes with her?"

Edward raked his fingers through his hair and let out a frustrated gust of air. "I don't have a choice. I love her; all of her. I just need to learn how to deal with the baggage when it explodes, that's all."

"No, you need to learn how to keep your own head above water and ask for help."

"I don't know how," Edward replied so quietly that Carlisle barely heard him. "I'm trying so hard to be strong because that's who everyone thinks I am, but some days it's too much; it weighs me down. How can I be strong for everyone else when I'm suffocating?"

Carlisle put his arm around Edward's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. "That's what family is for. We're here to pull you up, only we can't do it when you're down so deep below the surface that we can't see you."

"I saw him killing her, Dad. I saw him raping her. I...I...I can't get that out of my head. It's never going to go away, and..." Edward stuttered, almost too emotional to speak. "And...and...then I heard the gun go off when I tackled him and he looked at me, no, it...it...it was th...through me because he was DEAD! He had my mom's eyes, they were empty and dead...and there was blood, and Bella was choking, gasping for air...I...I thought she was going to die too. I had to breathe for her, Dad. I was the person keeping her alive and..."

Edward let out a gut-wrenching sob that would forever haunt Carlisle. "I feel like I'm still the one breathing for her but now I'm running out of air. I'm a KID, Dad. I can't keep both of us alive for much longer. I'm going to let her down and we're both going to die because I can't and I don't want to live without her.

"So how do I make this work? Please," Edward said, imploring his father to save him. "Please tell me how to do this."

Edward was hyperventilating. Carlisle calmed him down until his breathing was more normal, albeit ragged, by rubbing his back and speaking quietly to him, murmuring gentle assurances that everything would be okay.

"Can you please mention all of this to Victoria? She might have some better ideas of how to handle this; ways for you to help that won't drag you under.

"Son, you are a good person with an incredible heart. Please don't do anything to harm either one of them. By breathing for Bella you're cutting off your own air supply. She needs to learn how to breathe on her own and we all have to help wean her off of you to rely on us a little more. We've allowed you to carry this burden for entirely too long."

Edward hiccupped a couple of times and lifted his face from his father's shoulder. Carlisle handed him a tissue. "Are you okay?"

Nodding first, then blowing his nose, he nodded again and smiled weakly. "I'm tired."

"Go take a nap, you look exhausted."

"Bella?"

"We'll deal with her. Go on, get some rest."

"Thanks."

"I love you, son.

"I love you too, Dad."

* * *

Emmett was just about to hang up when the only person he wanted to talk to finally answer her phone. "Rosie?"

"Em, what's wrong? Are you crying?"

"Can...can I please see you?"

"Of course, I'll be right over," Rosalie said, trying not to panic over not only the tone of Emmett's voice, but the fact that he said _please_.

"No, we can't meet here...not good...school...park..."

"Em, hun, you're breaking up."

Emmett was audibly more upset. "You're breaking up with me?"

"No. Your phone is breaking up. Where do you want to meet?"

"At the park by the school."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few. Drive safe."

"You too."

Rosalie hopped into her car and took off toward the meeting place. She found him hunched down on a swing, moving very slowly. When he looked up at her, her heart just about shattered. "Baby, what is it?" she said, cradling his head in her hands.

His big, strong, hands pulled her to him and her ample breasts muffled his cries. His shoulders shook so hard he nearly knocked her off balance.

"Baby, what happened? Are you okay? Is it Bella?"

She had her answer when a loud sob tore through him.

"Is Bella okay?"

He shook his head.

"What happened?"

Holding up a finger, Emmett asked for a moment to get a grip on things and to stop crying. As he did so, he pulled her down so she was straddling him on the swing. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead.

"Oh, baby, you're scaring me. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know anymore, Rosie," he said, shaking his head sadly before resting it on her shoulder for a moment. He sighed when she held him tighter.

Clearing his throat a few minutes later, he looked at her and was finally ready to begin. "I got called to the office in sixth period because Bella skipped out this afternoon."

"I heard murmurs before I left that she freaked out at Mr. Varner and punched a kid."

"Great. More fucking rumours. Anyway, I got home and found Bella rearranging books."

"Oh. I take it that's bad?"

"She started obsessing over her books when she got out of the hospital. It seems like whenever she's upset she starts reorganizing them, so I knew something was up. Well, not to mention the crazy shit at school.

"So I..." he trailed off.

"...overreacted," she finished for him.

"Uh, yeah. You know me pretty good. I grabbed her so she'd stop with the books and talk to me."

"Oh, Em, you know you can't do that!"

"I KNOW, but I panicked. What the fuck was I supposed to do? When I touched her, she started screaming and shit, then she was on the floor rocking herself. Her eyes were freaking me out; it was as if she wasn't there. Then she started with the books again, and she was mumbling to herself."

"She was probably in a dissociative state; when the situation got to be too much, she shut down. It's a safety feature the brain uses sometimes when things get overwhelming."

"I called Esme to come because I didn't know what to do. Next thing we know, Bella's biffing books at Esme and smashing her head on the wall! She was screaming and she wouldn't stop.

"We called Edward to come home to see if he could help, and eventually he..."

"He what?"

"He freaked out—he tried to challenge me; he chest bumped me."

"What did you say to him? Edward's not one to provoke confrontation."

Emmett sighed. "You freak me out sometimes, babe. I called him Assward because he said something that triggered her to freak out again. Then all this shit came out about him being a kid and he couldn't fix her and who was going to fix him?"

Rosalie nodded sadly. "It's true."

"I've been so focused on Bella that...well, we've all been so focused on her that we forgot about him," Emmett said, scrubbing his face with his hands. "I'm such an asshat, Rosie. I didn't mean to push him aside. Kid's a mess and we could have prevented it."

Rosalie kissed the top of his head. "Stop taking on the weight of the world. You're no better than Edward. We can't help any of you if you don't ask for it, especially him. No one saw him struggling. How can we fix what we don't know is broken? Got it?"

He nodded.

"How's Bella now?"

"She's okay, I think. She seemed to snap out of it a bit and was cleaning up the mess with Esme when I left."

"And Edward?"

"He was talking to Carlisle, I think."

"Are you feeling any better?"

He grinned at her. "I always feel better when I'm with you, Rosie."

"That was a sweet way of avoiding the question. How are you feeling?"

"I'm confused. I don't know what to do with her."

"This kind of reaction isn't uncommon. I used to lash out something awful. Ask Jasper about how many times I destroyed my bedroom."

"Did you obsessively organize books?"

"No, but I cleaned—a lot. Whenever things felt like they were slipping out of my control, I cleaned. As worried as they were about me, I'm sure my parents secretly loved when I was struggling because the entire house would be spotless."

"Did you bang your head on the wall and punch yourself?"

She grew quiet. "Uhm, no. I uh, didn't bang my head, I..." she looked away from him.

Emmett gently turned her face so she was facing him. "What is it, Rosie, you can tell me."

A big tear fell down her cheek. "I can't. You'll look at me differently. I'm ashamed. I wasn't as strong back then..."

"Please, baby girl, I need to know."

"I cut myself?"

"You what?"

"See, I knew you'd be disgusted."

"No, no, I genuinely didn't hear you," he pushed a lock of her soft, blond, hair behind her ear. "Please."

"I cut myself," she said in a voice just a shade lower than a shout.

"Oh."

"See?" she pulled up her skirt and showed him a series of small, pale, scars on her thighs. Then she turned her arms over so he could see the tiny, faint, lines that criss-crossed her pale skin.

"How did I never notice these before?"

"Why do you think we make out with the lights off?"

"You don't cut anymore, though, right?"

"No."

"Why? Why did you cut? Can you explain it to me?"

"I can't speak for Bella, but for me, when things got so bad that it felt like my insides were being torn apart, the only thing that gave me respite from the inner pain was cutting. It gave me a brief release. I know now that it was just an endorphin rush; but at the same time, it was the only way I could find escape. It was eating me up; it was all-consuming.

"I'm not proud of it, Em, but it's nothing for me to be ashamed of either. I was hurting so bad and no one understood how bad it was. People understand if you break your leg that you're hurting, but what about people like me and Bella who endure something so invasive and personal? There are words to describe the pain of a broken bone, but there aren't many words that do justice to the kind of agony we we feel and live with.

"I can understand why she'd be a head banger, though. Her skin was cut as part of her abuse and to cut herself would make no sense...she's trying to get away from the scars, not make new ones. I might suspect that cutting could also trigger a flashback."

"You should really be a shrink, baby."

"Why's that?"

"Because you know so much about this shit and you always know how to make me feel better," he said, kissing her deeply as he pulled her closer.

When she felt his erection growing against her, she pulled away.

"No, Emmett, not now."

"Why not?" he replied, running his hands up her sides.

"Because you're vulnerable and you're using sex in place of cutting or banging your head. I love you, babe, but now is not the time for this," she said, getting up and straightening out her skirt. She stood there staring at him, counting down until...

"FUCK!" Emmett yelled, exploding from the swing and storming off toward the jungle gym. He smashed his fist into one of the wooden posts before moving to dent the slide with a rapid succession of punches.

"Let it out, baby," Rosalie said, standing off to the side, watching him let off some steam. When he finally crumpled to the ground cradling his right hand against his chest, sobbing, she walked over and held him.

"Is it broken?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Let's get you home and to Carlisle. He'll fix your hand. Are you feeling better?"

"Aside from the pain shooting up my arm, yeah."

"We need to find you something softer to hit next time. What about Bella's punching bags?"

He groaned. "Now you mention it."

They both laughed as she helped him up. "We'll take your Jeep and I'll get Jazzy to pick up my car. There's no way you can drive with your hand like that."

"Thanks, Rosie."

Rosalie smiled as she wrapped an arm around his waist and squeezed.

* * *

While Emmett and Rosalie were out at the park talking and destroying playground equipment, Edward took a nap. He drifted off into dreamless sleep at first, his poor subconscious was too exhausted to project anything until about two hours later when the nightmare he never spoke of slowly sucked him under. James was strangling Bella as he viciously raped her. No matter how hard he screamed, Edward made no sound at all, and no matter how hard he tried to run to her, he couldn't move his feet. He was the captive audience to his heart's demise. As James continued to thrust, he saw her become more and more limp, eventually her head lolled to the side, facing him, and her once beautiful and expressive brown eyes stared blankly at him.

James withdrew, pulled up his pants, and smiled at Edward, licking his lips. Never in his entire life, had Edward seen anything so truly evil and malevolent. He tried to scream and run, but again, it was useless, his efforts were in vain. Bella was dead and he didn't protect her.

As the final essence of life left her, he felt himself suffocating. They were soulmates and he would not live long without her.

He finally found his voice and screamed "I'M SORRY, BELLA" as he struggled for air.

"Edward," a distant voice called to him. "Edward, wake up. It's just a dream."

_Bella?_ Struggling for air, he sat up and blinked. She was alive and well, albeit worried, and sitting on his bed. A loud sob forced its way out of his lungs and he clung to her, breathing her in, too scared this was part of the dream.

"Sh, baby, it's okay. It was only a dream."

"But...you...oh God," he continued to sob.

"Come on, sweetie, lie down," she said, lying back so he could rest his head on her chest, above her heart. "It's still beating. I'm still here; I'm not leaving."

They were quiet as Edward calmed down. She ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed his back. Eventually, he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Conversations were kept to a bare minimum the following morning; Bella and Edward were near catatonic from exhaustion, Carlisle had taken Emmett to the hospital to have his hand casted as the swelling had been too bad the previous night, and poor Alice was oblivious to most of the previous day's nastiness. Not one who readily enjoyed silence, let alone awkward silence, she tried to engage everyone in some sort of dialogue but no one was biting.

"Esme, do you mind if I stay home today?" Bella asked. "I'm exhausted."

"Are you sure you're not trying to avoid the kids at school?"

Bella nodded, blushing. "I won't lie, I dread going back to face the wrath, but I really am tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"I don't see why you couldn't."

Edward yawned as his head dipped even closer to his Eggo waffles. Just before his hair hit the syrup on his plate, his head jerked up.

"By the looks of it, Bella isn't the only person at this table who needs to stay home and sleep today. Edward, dear, go up to bed before you drown in your breakfast."

Too exhausted to argue, he got up and dragged his sorry ass up the stairs. Bella wasn't far behind him. They both giggled when they heard Alice protesting that it wasn't fair that she had to go to school when they didn't.

Bella figured they were asleep before their heads hit the pillows. They slept long and hard, only waking mid-afternoon. She got up and went back to the cottage to shower and change.

Rosalie was sitting in the reading room when she came back downstairs from getting cleaned up.

"Hi, Rose, what's up?"

"I was going to ask you the same question."

Bella felt uneasy. "So, uh, where's Em?"

"He's still at school. I left early. I wanted to talk to you. Emmett..."

"Fucking big mouth," she mumbled.

"Uh, yeah, Bella, I'm going to forget I heard you say that. You have no idea what your brother has been going through, but this isn't about him; this is about you. What happened yesterday? What triggered your freak-out?"

"I was going to talk to you about it myself, if Mr. Mouth hadn't said anything. Esme thought you might be able to shed some light on this."

"So?"

"Mr. Varner wanted to tell me something as I was leaving class and he grabbed my arm."

"Oh oh."

"Uh, yeah, oh oh indeed. I had a major flashback—I could feel James, smell him. I freaked out. I ran out of the room before I could make an even bigger ass of myself and ran into poor Ben Cheney. He tried to stop me to see why I was crying and I punched him."

"Ah, say no more. That explains the black eye."

"Shit, I didn't mean to hurt him, I mean, he was just trying to be a friend, trying to help."

"I know, Sweets, and he didn't mean to freak you out. So, what happened then?"

"I ran out of the school and things got weird. It's as if everything after that was a horrible dream. I couldn't control myself...I don't even know for sure what happened. All I know is that I hurt the people I love, Edward cried himself to sleep last night, and I destroyed this room."

"Kind of like an out-of-body experience?"

Bella nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Everything is so hazy, so vague. Something's wrong with Edward; he's a mess and it's all my fault."

Rosalie hugged her. "Shit like this happens. You're going to have days like yesterday, things are going to be said and done and you probably won't remember much of it. Edward will be a mess after it happens because he's going to feel helpless and confused."

"I freaked out at Esme," Bella said quietly. "I threw books at Edward. By the feel of it, I was smashing my head on something; it's covered in knots and hurts like hell."

"You're angry, Bella. It's part of the process. You had a moment when you felt out of control and uncomfortable and it triggered you. You can acknowledge it happened, but don't dwell on it. Don't let the fear and the guilt win. You ARE safe, Sweets.

"As for Edward, I'm surprised he hasn't fallen apart before now. He's been through a lot too. He's brought you through the worst of it; he watched your abuser rape and almost kill you. He kept you alive, Bella. He's got a lot a lot on his plate, so you'll have to expect that even Prince Charming is going to freak out every now and then; but never, ever, doubt his love for you. Greater men have run from lesser things. We need to find an outlet for you so when you don't have an episode you don't destroy your house or your boyfriend.

"Please trust me on this. It does and will get better, it just takes time. You're going to get frustrated as fuck and you're going to get impatient with it, but you have to trust that everything will work out in the end."

"Wow, do you charge Victoria's usual hourly rate because I feel like I owe you big time for that, Rose."

Rosalie laughed. "Anytime, Bells. Promise me that next time, you'll call me before things really get out of control, okay? I can probably talk you down easier than anyone else because I have a better grasp on where you are and what's going on in that pretty little head of yours."

Bella hugged her. "Thanks so much, Rosie."

"Anytime, Sweets."

* * *

_**Thanks for suggesting it, Openhome. It was a truly interesting and sometimes hard outtake to write, but it was well worth it.**_

_**Voting for the Twilight All Human Fanfiction Awards is still open until the 25th of August. Head on over and vote for your favourites (even if they aren't my stories).**_

_**BellaCullen884, your outtake request is next and should be up in the next day or so. :)  
**_


	8. Exploratory Experimentation

_**SM owns Twilight. I own dusk. Muah ha ha ha ha.**_

_**As requested by the lovely **_**BellaCullen884**_**, here is a VERY short outtake of one of Bella and Edward's experimental explorations with touch and whatnot. It takes place around finals in Bella and Emmett's first year in Forks.**_

_**It's all fluff! No angst.  
**_

_**So, I give you Outtake #8-Exploratory Experimentation**_

* * *

Edward and Bella sat on her bed going over French verbs.

"Come on, Bella, you know this. Je veux, tu veux, il ou elle veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils ou elles veulent. We've gone over this a million times!"

"Pfft, why is it so important to learn French in the first place? Do you see many French people in Forks? Non."

"Please, love, whether you see the practical use of learning it or not, has no bearing on your grade. You," he kissed her forehead, "must," he kissed her nose, "pass," he kissed her chin, "French," he kissed her pouty lips.

"En français," she teased.

Exasperated, Edward stood up and walked to the bathroom. When he returned, Bella was lying on the bed looking at him lustfully. She slowly brought a hand up and cupped a breast, tweaking her nipple.

Edward felt the blood rushing from one head to the other as he watched her fondle herself. "Um," he said, his voice cracking, "that doesn't look like French homework to me." He gulped loudly.

Trying not to laugh, Bella spoke in what she thought might be construed as a deep, sexy, voice. "Edouard, voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir?"

He couldn't help but laugh at the cheesiness of what she had said. "Were you listening to Lady Marmalade today? Of course I'd love to sleep with you tonight, but we sleep together every night."

"No, not sleep, but _sleep_."

His jaw threatened to drop. "Really?"

"Well, fool around at least."

Edward quirked an eyebrow before launching himself onto the bed, tickling his beloved until she begged for mercy.

Emmett pounded on the door. "HEY! Would you two shut the hell up? I'm trying to study."

"Sorry," they said.

He peeked into her room. "You'd better be. I know I've already got the full-ride scholarship to Dartmouth, but I don't want to be 'that dumb guy' on the team."

"Gotcha. Oh, and Emmy?"

"Yeah?"

"Say hi to Rose for us. We can hear her all the way in here."

Emmett blushed.

"Are you studying female anatomy, Emmett?" Edward asked, smirking.

"Enough!" Emmett roared, slamming the door.

"Want to go outside? I don't really feel like listening to Em and Rosie tonight. The howling last night was enough to give me nightmares for months." Bella suggested.

"Yeah, it sounded like he had a pack of wolves in there," Edward said, shuddering at the memory. "Sure, I'd love to go outside for a while."

They grabbed sweaters, blankets, bottled water, and went out to the clearing behind the cottage. Edward made a nest with the blankets and as soon as he was pleased with the comfort level of his creation, he pulled Bella down and cuddled up with her.

Bella giggled as Edward leaned in to kiss her nose.

"What?"

"Nothing. That tickled."

"Oh," he said, running his hands up from her waist to her chest. "Does that tickle too?"

Bella moaned and pulled him closer, attacking his lips. She hitched her leg up over his hip and using her foot, pulled him even closer. His erection hit her in just the right spot inciting her to gasp.

"I'm sorry," he said, panting.

"No, it's good. Can we do it again?"

"You want to _dry hump_?"

Bella blushed. "I'd like to try it. It sounds so wrong, _dry humping_, it makes us sound like dogs. It feels good, though, and it doesn't seem to be freaking me out."

"I'll do anything you want, love."

She rubbed herself against his straining bulge and sighed. "Mm...this is nice."

Edward cupped her ass and brought her to a steady rhythm. They panted into each other's mouths as they got caught up in the sensation. Opening his eyes, he watched Bella's eyes get even more drowsy with lust as she ground up against him.

"Oh, oh...oh my God!" she cried out as she was overcome by an orgasm unlike any she'd given herself. "Edward!" she squeaked as he continued to rock into her.

"Hold on, I'm almost there. Are you okay?" he grunted.

"Oh yeah!"

With a few more thrusts he reached his peak and made a damn sticky mess in his pants.

Bella remained on top of Edward as she came down from the exhilarating heights she'd just reached. "That...that was amazing."

"Mmm..." he moaned into her hair. "That was, uh, _interesting_."

"Will it be that good when we really do it?"

"Better, I hope."

* * *

_**See? All fluff! Well, except for the jizz in Edward's pants. *snicker***_

_**Next outtake is not fluffy at all. Not in the least. **_**Mistletoe92 _wanted to know what happened the night James branded Bella. It's a rough outtake, VERY graphic, and some people may not want to read it. You've been warned._**

**_I'm hoping to have it up tonight or tomorrow._**

**_Thanks again to everyone for the support. Big Emmett-sized hugs and a dry hump with Edward to you all. :)_**


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